Death and Rebirth
by Zion Angel
Summary: Only in hindsight can you see how your choices change you. Only by guessing can you see where your path will lead. Only time can tell who Trinity will become. An unique view on her past.
1. Betrayed

This is basically just my story of Trinity's life before the movie. This chapter really doesn't _seem_ like it has too much to do with the Matrix, but this is kinda the start of everything. Anyway, it'll definitely be more Matrix-oriented in the next chapter.

Revised version of chapter.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter One

Betrayed

***

She was, for lack of a better description, two people in one body.

One of those people was a natural-born warrior. Silent, watching and listening with an inhuman attentiveness. That person had been watching and listening for her entire life, letting any questions she had be answered without even asking them. She had eyes and ears that had learned to tell your thoughts, just by paying close attention. And yet for someone so adept at reading other's emotions, it was truly impossible for anyone to do the same to her, lest she allow them to.

And she never did.

She had feet that could creep over hollow metal silently, climb the oldest of stairs without making a single squeak. She had a body that could be standing right next to you, and you'd never know she was there. A body that could sneak away from you, past your very eyes, that could stand in the shadows for an eternity, unnoticed, giving her an unusual and rare access to knowledge of things no one else could, or would, ever know.

And then there was her mind. Sharp, cunning and quick. It was truly one-of-a-kind, with abilities like no other. Given the appropriate time to sort it through, she could solve any problem, create any number of solutions. She could think on her feet, make connections no one else could. It was that razor-sharp mind that shielded the entire of her in an impenetrable armor. That mind that gave her her constant vigil, her strength. Her never-ending faith in whatever she did. It was also that mind that kept the other part of her hidden.

The other part of her was a young woman. Someone that could be described as normal, only better. A woman who cared for others, watched over them silently. Who stepped in to help, and receded into the shadows once her purpose had been fulfilled. A woman who was afraid of things, had worries and doubts, which only served to further make her human.

These two sides of her intermingled the slightest bit. The warrior gave the woman strength and courage. The woman gave the warrior a drive to fight endlessly for what she knew was right. Like yin and yang - a tiny piece of one within the other.

Unfortunately, that tiny piece of the young woman within her was all that was ever allowed to show, ever _able_ to show. Her life just couldn't allow for anything else. And strangely, ironically almost, her "life" now, and her life in the future would present you with the opposite of the person you would expect to encounter. Now, she was purely warrior. But, over the years, more and more of the woman would be able to show through.

***

Nothing about Amelia Harper's life was anything close to what could be deemed "perfect." She lived in an older, less prosperous New York City suburb. Fights sometimes broke out near her apartment, more than a few resulting in a serious injury. But these had become part of her daily life, and ambulances never surprised her anymore. There had been fights at her schools, too. Just stupid little ones in elementary school. Things like there only being one ball left, but two groups of kids who wanted to play with it; then the "leaders" of those groups would end up tackling each other to the ground. The teachers usually broke those up, leaving only bruises, but in her mind, they happened too often. Then in middle school, the teachers didn't seem to care as much. Those were the fights that ended in black eyes and bloody noses. Those were the fights that the teachers put second to whatever they were presently doing, allowing them to go on longer than they should. They never really paid any attention to them unless someone brought a knife or some other kind of weapon. That happened far to often as well.

That was why, when an inner-city private high school had gotten wind of Amelia's grades and offered her a scholarship, her mother was ecstatic. She talked of nothing for days, telling everyone she knew. Amelia didn't know which was a bigger factor in her mother's elation: the fact that it meant she wouldn't have to worry as much about her daughter's safety, or the fact that "her little girl" had been asked to attend the one of the best schools in the city. She couldn't quite tell.

What she could tell was that the only reason the school wanted her was to keep up appearances, raise their standards and statistics and all that other pretentious crap. She wanted no part in that, would much rather go to the high school where she had spent her freshmen year. But her mother would hear none of it.

This was her baby's big chance, she said.

This was her baby's ticket to success, she said.

This way her baby would be safe, she said.

Eventually she just went along with it - the fight wasn't worth the gain. And going to this new school would have it's upsides. She wouldn't have to watch the daily fights. They shook her to the core, though no one knew that. She didn't find classes particularly enjoyable, not difficult, just boring. But at least here she wouldn't have to look at blank stares of people only there because the government said they had to be.

What she did not count on, however, was the whole new set of challenges that awaited her.

***

She was the exact opposite of every other girl there. Where they were rich, she was poor. Where their parents owned entire floors of condo buildings, hers could barely make rent on their tiny two bedroom apartment. Their shoes cost hundreds of dollars for a single suede pair, while she still wore the combat boots she had had for three years. They wore the latest and greatest from Madison Avenue. Her wardrobe, not including winter outerwear, contained exactly seven pairs of blue jeans, four dyed black jeans, nine t-shirts, six basic tank tops, five long sleeved shirts, and two denim jackets, one dyed black. Your most basic of wardrobes, half of which she had bought with her own hard-earned money.

Those were, however, about the only places in which they outscored Amelia. They envied and hated her in every other department.

They didn't give a damn about their grades. Neither did she. And yet, while she got A's across the board, few of the rest averaged above a C.

Even with their best-of-the-best dermatologists, prescription medicine, and department store makeup, they came nowhere near Amelia, who had none of it, and didn't need it anyway. This natural beauty, coupled with her kick-ass attitude, had about half the boys in school turning their heads when she walked by. She would ignore them, and treat them like the scum of the earth, and ironically only make them want her more. Their girlfriends' glares were almost enough to rival Amelia's trademark "Scary Face"... but not quite.

And thus, the classic, never-ending downward spiral.

But Amelia didn't really care that they hated her. She didn't want any part in their world. It consisted of nothing but an eternal game of backstabbing. You climb your way to the top of the popularity ladder, shoving everyone else out of the way. And then, once you got there, there were only two things to do: flirt with the most popular _boy_ in school, whoever it happened to be that week, and get thrown back into obscurity by whoever managed to worm their way into your old place.

It was, to simplify it, stuck-up, snobbish, mundane, predictable and downright idiotic. And what was the point, anyway?

***

There was, however, a bright spot in the nightmare that had become Amelia's life. Three months into the school year, Kelly Miller was accepted on scholarship.

Kelly and Amelia had lived down the hall from each other since they were both ten, making theirs a friendship of almost five years. Their mothers had become friends, and would sometimes drag the two girls along with them, putting them into a friendship of their own. Each girl was the only friend the other had ever had.

There was no other way to describe the pair: Soul Sisters. Separated at birth. They were identical. Both were fighters, quick witted and brilliant. Both had a habit of acting cold and indifferent, being decent only to the people they knew they could trust. And neither would take any kind of crap from anyone.

But they were simultaneously exact opposites. Where Amelia was a silent observer, Kelly was loud and direct. One would bide her time, carefully planning, the other would jump in at the first opportunity and go from there.

The were that way physically, too. Both were slim, not skinny, with just a hint of extra muscle on them. They were tall, and almost perfectly proportioned, and both had short halos of hair around their heads. Amelia, on the one side, had ice blue eyes and extremely fair skin. Kelly had hazel eyes, and a slightly more tanned complexion. The biggest difference in their appearance, however, was their hair. While Amelia's was jet black, Kelly's was a natural blonde so pale it looked white.

And now, thank _God_, they were going to the same school once again. They had been spending less and less time together in recent months, as most of the time they would normally spend together was at school. Amelia wasn't the clingy or dependant type, but it was just getting so boring, not having anyone to talk to at school. And as an added bonus, she would now have someone to listen to her snide little remarks about the stupid daily lives of the "Other Half."

***

Amelia's parents always fought. At least once a week, usually more. It had been that way since before she could remember. Their fights were the reason she had learned to be so silent. Every time they fought, she would have to sneak from one part of the apartment to another, without being noticed. With some of the smaller fights, she'd stay in the corner of the room and watch, and they'd be completely unaware of her. Other times, with the bigger, more serious fights, she would sneak off into her room until it stopped, drowning out the sound as best she could with her walkman radio turned up as loud as it would go.

That didn't always work, though. She would catch bits and pieces of their yelling once in a while, between songs or commercials. Usually her father, since he did most of it, and was almost always the one who started the fight.

She really didn't understand what her mother saw in that man in the first place. There wasn't even a way to describe him at all politely. But to be blunt about it, he was... repulsive, at least to Amelia. She couldn't remember him having a decent job in her entire life, nor could she remember one holding out for longer than six months. He always blamed that on her mother, God knows why. He blamed everything else on her, really. He blamed her very loudly, too, making a big scene, sometimes pushing her around, maybe hitting her. She got bruises from time to time; much more often, lately.

And the worst part was, she just took it. She never tried to defend herself, and God forbid she fight back.

Fight back, just like she wasn't doing right now.

***

She hadn't expected a fight right now. Her mother would be home, as she was working the night shift for the next few weeks. But her father, apparently, had gotten himself fired from yet another job. So they were both home, and fighting.

Amelia blocked out their voices as best she could on her own. She was quickly changing into black jeans and a white long sleeve shirt - her work clothes. She took the small, black leather backpack from it's place on the back of the door handle and went around the room, filling it, pace quickening the closer the yelling got. Mostly just her wallet and walkman, and the book she had been assigned for school.

Lifting the windowpanes open, Amelia climbed out onto the fire escape with practiced moves. She had come to the conclusion long ago that she used this exit from the apartment far too much. Putting the headphones over her ears, she gave her bedroom window a final glance before moving off to the nearest subway station.

***

"How much money do you have saved up, anyway?"

Amelia sat down next to Kelly at the counter, pushing the coffee mug towards her, and began the long and repetitive process of rolling the silverware into napkins.

"About two thousand," she replied. "I'll get another fifteen-hundred or so by the end of the year, that'll be enough."

"And we still have absolutely _no_ idea where this obsession with getting a motorcycle comes from?" Kelly, as usual, put double cream and sugar into her mug, and stirred the coffee slowly.

"None whatsoever."

"So you just woke up one day and said to yourself, 'Self, I think we should get a motorcycle as soon as we hit sweet sixteen, so start saving up now'?"

"More or less." There was a barely detectable smirk on Amelia's face as she put a finished silverware roll into the small pile.

"And only ten more months to go until you can buy it."

"_Only._ Sure, Kelly_"_

"But they pay you well, right?"

"As well as a coffee shop _can_ pay, yes."

"But it's a _New York City_ coffee shop," she pointed out casually.

"Your point, please?"

"Well," she said, taking another drink of coffee and then putting it down, "they value good service, so they're probably going to promote you in a couple of months and that means you'll get paid even more. You'll have not only enough money for a bike, but also a helmet for your best friend. Your best friend who'll, I assume, get all the rides she wants?"

Amelia stopped her movements and just stared.

"I just mean," Kelly recovered quickly, bringing herself back to the subject, "that they like good customer service, and you've got it. You're not a complete ice queen to the nice people, and with the others, well... you're good at tolerating them."

"How d'ya figure?" She resumed her rolling.

"You go to _school_ on the Upper-East side -" Kelly said this as if it were the most obvious thing in the world "- and you don't _live_ on the Upper-East side. You have to be able to tolerate people to do that."

"So do you, but you can't tolerate anyone."

"And that's the difference between you and me," she said proudly. "You deal with the people you don't like; I simply stay as far away from them as I can."

Amelia was silent. She sighed quietly but heavily, suddenly reminded of the day's earlier events. She stayed away from people, too. But only two specific people, and only for one reason.

Kelly stopped, and looked her face over carefully. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." An untrained ear would believe that statement. Kelly didn't. And it wasn't too hard to guess what was bothering her. She was quiet for a moment, judging what to say.

"My mom said they've been fighting more lately. She said she heard them coming home."

She had learned to take Amelia's silence and supposed oblivion to what she had said as a yes. She didn't say anything more.

***

Amelia sighed and rubbed her eyes as she finished the assigned chapter of the book she was reading, putting it down on the fire escape step. _To Kill a Mockingbird_ really wasn't that bad of a book, but it just didn't interest her. Novels never did. They just made the feeling stronger.

Kelly had asked her what "feeling" she was talking about once. It had been hell trying to explain back then, but she felt she could do better now. It was the feeling that something about the world was just... wrong. Something was amiss, but she could never put her finger on it. Everything just felt... unreal, if that was possible. The only example she was able to give was when, from time to time, she would be going about her day normally, and for no apparent reason, everything would get all weird. She would see things clearly, but her mind would barely register them, the same with her hearing. She felt as if she was inside of a dream, trying to wake up.

Sometimes the feeling lasted a few seconds, sometimes a few minutes. But the best she could do was describe it to Kelly - she had never felt that way.

That was why she never liked novels: that feeling she had made the world feel false and unreal, and reading about a world you know is unreal just heightened that feeling.

She let her eyes wander around the back walls of nighttime apartment buildings, and they fell onto the window of Kelly's living room. She was sitting at the table, headphones on, reading as well. Her parents and bratty little brother were on the couch. She couldn't see the TV, but Amelia knew what they were watching, Kelly had told her earlier: _Terminator_. From the looks of it, Kelly had purposely waited until now to read. ("AI robots taking over the world and wreaking havoc on society, like that's gonna happen.") She gave a small smirk, remembering her friend's words.

She looked up at the sky. It was clear tonight, and for New York, you could see the stars pretty well.

Climbing back inside the window, Amelia tossed the book towards her backpack, and got her jacket off the back of the desk chair. Outside, she made quick work of climbing from the fifth story fire escape to the roof of the ten-story building. From there, she climbed onto the roof of the stairwell that led here from inside the apartments.

For the kind of neighborhood she lived in, it certainly had a great view. Sitting right where she was, you could see the Statue of Liberty and the buildings of the main city, all lit up. The entire building came up here on the Fourth of July, and for New Years, to see the fireworks, but tonight she was left alone with her thoughts, just the way she liked it.

***

Kelly glanced at the TV on the other side of the room. Where did people come up with the ideas of machines ruling the world? It was ridiculous. Not to mention it would never happen.

She pulled her attention away from the movie and back to _To Kill a Mockingbird_.

_"Our father had a few peculiarities: one was, he never ate deserts; another was that he liked to walk. As far back as I -"_ the line stopped at the end of the page, and she continued reading at the top of the next.

It started on a whole new sentence.

Kelly's eyes narrowed and she checked the page numbers. The first was 148, then... 157. She glared down at the book, then dropped it on the table.

"Figures," she said, pulling off the headphones.

"What?" Her brother, Billy, looked over his shoulder at her from the couch. The movie was on a commercial now.

"You'd _think_ that a book from a school in the Upper-East side would be new and in perfect condition. And here I am, missing eight whole pages." She was at the door by now. "I'm gonna get Amelia's and read off of that."

She walked down the hall at a leisurely pace, slowing even more when she reached the side hallway that lead to Amelia's place. But by the time she reached apartment 513, she could hear yelling from her friend's, 520.

Kelly had heard Amelia's parents fight before, rest assured, but never this loudly. Or, she thought with slight fear, this violently. She put her ear to the door for a moment, listening.

Then she bolted back the way she came. This was not good.

She burst back into her own apartment, not bothering to close the door behind her. She ignored her parents' barely decipherable questions and went out onto the fire escape, not even waiting to open the living room window all the way. She didn't bother to muffle the sounds of her feet as she ran the length of the fire escape, around the bend of the building and to Amelia's bedroom window.

A split second look inside told her that she wasn't there, meaning that there was only one other place that she could be.

***

Amelia lay sprawled on her back, hugging her jacket tightly around her, looking up at the moon. It was almost full.

She had been lost in thought, but was quickly pulled out of it by the sound of hurried footsteps on the fire escape. She sat up just in time to see Kelly come over the ladder and onto the roof.

"Amelia," she said breathlessly, "your parents are fighting. I've never heard them like this."

She was already climbing down the stairs, Kelly close behind. She took the flights in leaps and bounds, skipping two and three steps at a time, jumping the last five or so.

She made it to her bedroom window on the fifth floor in less than a minute. She bounded towards her bedroom door, reaching for the handle. Just as she was about to turn it, she stopped. Something was wrong.

It was too quiet.

There was no yelling. There was no shatter of breaking glass. No angry shuffle of feet as arguing people moved about. Only a low, angered muttering, her father cursing under his breath.

"Ame-"

"She's not here," she said shortly, turning on her heel.

She flew down the next four flights of stairs even faster than before, adrenalin coursing through her, stronger and stronger. This was bad. This was very, very bad. She couldn't explain how she knew, it was just a gut instinct. Her mother had left the apartment after fights before, no harm done, so she dreaded to think why this fight might be different.

She did not even stop to think about her next move when she had gotten to only a single level above ground. Not slowing her pace in the slightest, she jumped over the rusted railing of the fire escape, relying on her combat boots to keep her ankles from breaking when she landed. She fell onto her side after hitting the ground, but was instantly up again, running towards the front end of the apartment building.

She rounded the corner, and hadn't gone more than ten feet when she stopped abruptly, hand against the wall to help slow herself.

Amelia stood, frozen in her tracks, not breathing even though she had just run down ten flights of stairs. There was an old-fashioned, navy blue car just in front of the apartment entrance. There was a tall man in a business suit standing by it, and as she watched, her mother came outside, with a suitcase in hand. Her eyes widened, shocked and horrified, as she kissed him on the cheek and handed him the suitcase. He opened the passenger side door for her, then put the suitcase in the trunk. Then he himself took the driver's seat. There was a hum as the engine started and the lights turned on.

Amelia slowly sank to the ground, taking in shaky and shallow breaths, as the car pulled away from the curb, and drove off down the empty street.

"Amelia!" Kelly came running around the corner, stopping just short enough as not to trip over her. "Amelia?" she asked, concerned at seeing her friend looking so helpless and afraid. Amelia Michelle Harper didn't do helpless and afraid. She was too much of a warrior for it. "What happened?"

A few quiet tears were forming in her eyes. One rolled down her face, and she said, in a raspy and shaky whisper that was barely audible:

"She's gone."

***

This is kinda creepy. I started this chapter a week ago, and typed about 1700 words of it, but didn't do much until yesterday (It's like 1:00 in the morning here). I was on and off the computer between about noon and midnight, and I got out over two thousand words in that time. That's a complete record for me. I'm usually lucky if I can do 200 words in a day, let alone ten times as many in less than six hours.

Anyway, like I said, the next chapter will be more Matrix-oriented. R+R!! : )


	2. Bargaining

Revised version of chapter.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Two

Bargaining

***

Amelia tapped the eraser of her pencil against the paper, her mind wandering from the equations she was supposed to be solving. She hated algebra. Half of it had no use anywhere other than a test. And the other half was for jobs you'd never have anyway.

The tapping slowed, then stopped as she looked amongst the things on her desk. Mostly just pens and pencils, some extra paper. But in one corner there was a wooden picture frame with little stars burned along the edges. It held a picture from when she was about six or seven, of her and her mother in Central Park. Her mother was behind her, tickling her stomach, and the little Amelia was laughing and trying to pull away.

She stared at it for another moment, then pushed it face-down on the desk with a little more force than was necessary.

Pictures were memories. She didn't want to remember her mother right now. Unfortunately, her uncanny ability to control her thoughts seemed to have left her recently, and she was unable to get her mother - and what she did - out of her head.

The sight of her leaving felt simultaneously as though it were happening right now, and as if it had happened a thousand years ago. The memory was still fresh in her mind, constantly replaying itself, yet time had slowed down since it happened. It was hard to believe that it had only been three days.

There was a soft tap at the window, and Amelia turned to see Kelly kneeling on the other side. She had a worried smile on her face, and was balancing a plate on her left knee.

Amelia slowly got up from her chair, unlatched the window, and opened it. She moved off to the mirror by her closet, picking up the brush from the small table beneath it. She started brushing her hair slowly as Kelly spoke.

"My mom made you cookies."

She continued on another section of hair, unresponsive.

"They're peanut-butter. Your favorite." She waved the plastic-wrap covered plate around where she would be able to see it in the mirror, had she been looking. But her eyes were closed, and she seemed to be holding back tears.

It was unnerving. Amelia had cried more in the past three days than she had in her entire life.

"I really thought she cared," she said quietly, opening her eyes the slightest bit. "I really did."

"She did care, Ames."

She turned around to face Kelly directly, pain showing clearly on her face. "Then why did she leave? If she really cared, she would have taken me with her. If she cared, she would have told me where she was going, given me an address or a phone number. For God's sake, Kelly, if she gave a damn about me she would have said good-bye!" The tears finally started rolling down her cheeks. "What does that tell you? She left without a second thought about me, like I wasn't her daughter, like I don't even exist...."

She shrugged defeatedly and collapsed onto the bed. Amelia had never needed comforting before, so Kelly had no idea what to do.

"I really thought she cared about me. I really thought she was the one person around here who really loved me, and still might even if I wasn't her daughter. Either I have never been more wrong in my life, or she loved that bastard more than me."

***

One month. One whole, entire month, and nothing. Thirty days, and it was as if Amelia's mother had simply dropped off the face of the earth. No letter, no phone call, nothing. At first she had thought - hoped, really - that maybe her father was throwing away letters, hanging up on phone calls, and that her mother actually had tried to contact her, it just hadn't gotten through.

But he had gotten another job about two weeks ago, and wasn't home in the afternoons. Wasn't there to throw away mail or answer the phone. Wasn't there to intercept messages that never came.

But Amelia was there. To listen to silence, hoping for the ring of a phone. To sift through mail, hopping for a letter with her name on it.

She was there to see that they hadn't come, and probably weren't going to.

***

The fire escape stairs just outside Amelia's bedroom window were probably older than she was. There were patches of rust where the rain would run off of the most, and it wasn't unheard of for someone to cut themselves on the metal. But some of the people in the surrounding apartments had taken the liberty of dressing the catwalks up a little.

There was an elderly woman who lived a few doors away from her. She probably had more flowerpots than anyone in the building. Some were regular flowers, some were strawberries, there were even vines growing from one, covering much of the wall.

But most other people just had one or two pots of flowers. Many of them were set along the steps on the stairs. It was one of these plants that Amelia was picking at one night. She was so deep within her own thoughts that she barely realized she had pulled off a flower, and was practically mutilating the individual petals.

She had tried everything. Waiting had produced no word from her mother. It had only given time for her mind to torture with a thousand and one possibilities of what had happened, where she had gone. Given her time to go over every detail again and again. Wondering why this fight was so different from the rest, what was so unusual, what had gone wrong. It was made all the worse because she couldn't answer any of these questions, couldn't figure out the why of anything. But she had figured out the what, what exactly her mother had done.

She betrayed Amelia. That was the only way it could be described.

It was obvious that she didn't like her husband any more than Amelia did. It was obvious that they both wanted to get away from him. Her mother had gotten an opportunity to do just that, and had betrayed her by not allowing her to share in that opportunity.

After waiting an entire month, to no avail, she had taken matters into her own hands. Her mother had an address book that held the names and numbers of most everyone they were related to. Using Kelly's phone, so as not to raise her father's suspicion and anger when the phone bill came, she called them all, one by one. She explained the story to the ones who didn't already know, and asked if they had heard anything from her, a phone message, postcard, anything. It was a hopeless endeavor, and she knew it, but she had hoped... hoped for the impossible, really. But she called everyone anyway, and each time the answer was the same:

"No, I'm sorry, Amelia, I haven't heard from her."

"Aren't you cold?" asked a worried voice.

Her attention snapped away from her wallowing to see Kelly, wrapped in a small blanket, on the bottom step.

"No." She returned to pulling the tiny flower petals apart.

Kelly watched her for a moment, trying to figure out what was the best thing to say next.

"My mom's making spaghetti." No response. "And those breadsticks you like."

"I've been eating at your house too much anyway."

"No you haven't," she said sympathetically. "We don't mind, really. And I'm not about to let that madman who calls himself your father feed you."

"I can cook my own food. Besides, he's not here half the nights." It was true. He had been spending many of his nights in bars and clubs, and Amelia was always asleep by the time he came back. He was usually still asleep when she left for school.

"All the more reason for you to come over."

Amelia raised her eyes to meet Kelly's, letting them stay there for a moment.

"You're gonna keep bugging me until I give in, aren't you?"

"It's not as if you're in the emotional shape to fight back like you normally would," she retorted with a smirk.

"Fine, fine, fine." She stood slowly, and followed Kelly back along the catwalk to her apartment.

***

Amelia's eyes darted to the clock for the tenth time in the last five minutes. David Kellerman was sitting at a desk only a few feet away, and was bragging, as he did so well. He bragged about so many things, normally. His family's summer house, the month-long summer trips to every corner of the world, the Benz he had been promised for his sixteenth birthday, the wonderful penthouse he lived in, and basically everything else that had to do with his family's money.

He also bragged about his skills as a hacker.

Everyone in the school knew it. He had the best computer system money could buy. He would do things, hack for things, for the right price, for anyone in school. He'd written more than a few viruses for people with grudges, seeking revenge. Right now he was whispering to his surrounding friends a replay of his latest venture.

From what she had heard, one of his friends had paid him to get a girl's number out of the school database - and paid ferociously too much, with how easy he made it sound.

"Piece of cake." David gave one of the other boys a small scrap of paper, with a phone number hastily scrawled on it. "I'm tellin' ya, if they're gonna have the computers hooked up to the internet, they should really put up some firewalls or something."

Amelia turned back around in her seat, letting her senses drift from their conversation and back to her own mind. Thinking. Thinking that if someone could hack their way into a school computer for a phone number, what was to stop someone from finding an address on a higher level? What was to stop someone from finding out where someone was, anywhere in the country? Answer: for a hacker, nothing.

She looked up at the clock again. _Goddamn it, ring_!

As if on cue, the final bell sounded, releasing them from school for the weekend. Amelia shoved the book she had been "reading" into her backpack, and dashed out the door to her locker. Kelly caught up with her a few seconds later, opening the her own locker, right next to her friend's.

"Hurry up." Amelia was putting her things into her backpack as quickly as she possibly could. Her eyes kept darting down the hall, to where David was about to go out the main doors of the school.

"What are you doing?" Kelly was hurrying to close her locker and keep up with Amelia as she began down the hall.

"Bargaining," she said over her shoulder.

She followed her down the corridor, watching her carefully. A smile slowly crept onto her face as she did. There was a confidence in her friend's step that she had not seen in almost two months. A confidence that showed itself in even, paced yet quick steps, in a posture that had been absent for some time now.

_This_ was the Amelia Harper she knew. Back for the first time since the disappearance of her mother. But... why now?

"David!" she called, just as he was began to push the doors out. He turned around, smiling when he saw who it was. God _bless_ whatever spell it was she put all these boys under.

"Hey, Amelia," he said. "What can I do for ya?"

"I wanted to talk to you." She looked to his small group of friends out of the corner of her eye. "Privately."

She nodded to Kelly to follow her out the door. As she turned back to David, she saw the sly look he exchanged with his friends. The very sight of it made her want to gag.

"Don't flatter yourself, Kellerman. Your chances with me are none and nil."

She led the way out the door, followed by Kelly, who she knew was smirking, and David, who no doubt had a confused and defeated look on his face.

Outside the school's front doors and off to the right was a small alcove with trees and a few benches. Barely big enough for three or four dozen people to stand in at once, but it was empty now. Perfect.

Amelia turned around to face him, but her eyes wandered around for a moment. Finally she said, albeit guardedly, "You're a pretty good hacker, right David?"

"Most definitely," he replied, sounding as if he was trying to impress her, despite what she had told him a few minutes ago.

"Good enough to teach someone else?"

He hesitated, studying her face. He found nothing, which did not help to diminish his sudden suspicion. "Yeah...." he said slowly. "Why? You want me to teach _you_?"

"Yes." Her words had a sort of finality to them.

He watched her closely. "I hate to break it to you, Amelia, but my time is valuable, I don't work for free."

"You'd be reimbursed," she said calmly.

"How? I thought you were saving all your money for a motorcycle."

"I am." Her calm was becoming eerie.

"So how're you gonna pay me?"

"B's. On your next report card. Math and science."

Everyone in school knew that David was a brilliant hacker. They also knew that that was about the only thing he _was_ brilliant at. He got C's and D's in everything but computers.

"Nope. Sorry, babe." He swung his backpack over one shoulder. "I can get into the school's system myself and change 'em."

"True," she said to his retreating figure. "But you run the risk of someone getting suspicious and figuring out what you're doing."

He stopped and looked her in the eye from over his shoulder. "So what do you suggest?"

"Tutoring. I'll tutor you in math, Kelly'll tutor you in science."

"Really?" He looked skeptical. "And what if Kelly doesn't want to tutor me?"

"You don't have a problem with it," Amelia looked over her shoulder, "do you Kelly?"

She shook her head. In reality, she did, but she was sure that she wouldn't once it had been explained. "Not at all. You'll owe me, though."

"Of course." She turned back around to David. "She doesn't have a problem." She held her hand out to him. "How about you?"

He looked from one girl to the other, thinking over their proposal for a minute. He finally nodded a little.

"Alright," he said, shaking Amelia's hand. "You got yourself a deal."

***

"So," Kelly asked calmly, taking another slice of pizza, "you wanna tell me what that was about?"

It had gotten dark out, and rather cold, even for March, but they sat on the fire escape anyway, wrapped in jackets and eating the food Kelly's mother had ordered.

Amelia took a drink of her Coke, staying quiet for a moment.

"Well.... You've heard him brag about how he can get into anything, dig up information."

"Yeah."

"Well, if he could get into a school computer for a phone number... you see where I'm goin'?"

She did. It was difficult not to. Amelia wanted to find out what had happened to her mother. "So _that_ explains the return of the Warrior."

"Excuse me?"

"You," she said, thinking it ironic that she knew everything that was happening around her, but was at times unaware of herself. "You're a warrior, Amelia, everyone knows it, you can tell just by looking at you. But you haven't been that way for almost two months, since your mom left. It's just nice to see you back to your old self. The old Amelia that would stand up to anybody, wouldn't back down.... The karate thing doesn't hurt either."

"Kung fu," she said absently, rubbing her cold hands together.

"What?"

"Kung fu," her attention seemed to have returned to the conversation, "not karate."

Kelly shrugged the mistake off. "Whatever. Either way, you could probably kick Jacob Cromwell's -" movement behind Amelia caught her attention, and she turned to see her little brother standing there "- butt. Hi, Billy, whatcha doin'?" she finished in an obviously annoyed tone that sisters always use.

Amelia looked down from her place on the steps. You could tell that the two were related. Same face, same near-white hair. Same intolerance for each other.

"Who's Jacob Cromwell?" Typical little brother: nosy.

"Biggest bully in the sophomore class." Amelia spoke, leaning against the cold railing. "Bane of our existence."

"What's that mean?"

"Go. Ask. Mom."

"Don't want to." He reached for the closed pizza box, which was still keeping three more slices warm. Just as he was about to open it, Amelia put her hand on it, keeping it closed. In doing so, she had moved to be just in front of his face, and she took the opportunity to hit him with one of her infamous glares.

"These aren't for you. Now, go back home before you freeze."

He obeyed, if not for the look she gave him, then for the tone of her voice.

Kelly stared after him as he walked back along the catwalk. "God bless you and that Scary Face, Harper."

"It's a gift," she smirked. 

***

Their trade almost wasn't fair. They were teaching each other two different things, but one was learning much more quickly.

They met almost every day at David's house, as he was the one with the computer. They would alternate - hacking lessons one day, tutoring the next. Amelia was, of course, much quicker to learn hacking than David was at his own lessons.

They didn't have much time, though, whatever was being taught. Between her job at the cafe, homework and martial arts lessons, there was rarely more than an hour free in her schedule. On weekends, she was able to spare three a day, but with the vast amounts each had to learn, it hardly seemed like it would be enough.

"Oh ye of little faith," she said, sliding her chair back from the computer desk, two months into her lessons.

David got up from the floor, where Kelly had been helping him study for his biology test, and came to examine the computer screen. It took only a single look to send him into shock.

"I don't believe it..." Not realizing that Amelia had moved his chair, and was still in it, he tried to sit down where it would normally be. He landed on the floor, rather ungracefully, and, from the looks of it, painfully.

"And _that_," Kelly chided, "is what we call karma. Your karma for doubting her. I'll be needing that five bucks before we leave, by the way." Ah, the beauty of a sure bet.

"But you've only been at this two months!" He yelled, seeming oblivious to his place on the floor, and to Kelly. "It took me almost a year to hack the high school computers!"

"Yeah." Amelia stared at the screen, a superior smirk on her face. "This is gonna be one of those student-surpasses-the-teacher things."

David could only sit and gape at her, unsure whether to be humiliated at being out-hacked by a girl, or to be amazed.

***

Not as long as I thought it would be. But I decided to move some things from this chapter to the next. I know I said this would be more "Matrix-oriented" than the last, and I guess it kind of is, but the next one will be even more. There's two things I'm really looking forward to writing. I might put them both in chapter 3, I might save one for chapter 4. I'm not sure yet

R+R!! : )


	3. Hacker Alias: Trinity

Here it is: chapter three. It actually worked out that I didn't put the name thing in chapter two (Trinity, three, you see where I'm goin'?). Anyway, it's about three AM here. I always seem to post chapters at some awful hour, don't I? And thanks to everyone who reviewed, and everyone who didn't but still loves my story so far! : ) Also, before I start, has anyone noticed a similarity between Kelly and a character from the movie? Hmm... foreshadowing for the chapter.

Revised version of the chapter.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Three

Hacker Alias: Trinity

***

"You're gonna go broke if you keep coming in here every single day," Amelia chided her friend, sitting down at the table with their coffees.

"I won't with the discounts I get, thanks to you, and it's habit. I like this place."

"Not to mention putting yourself in a coma with all that sugar." She rolled her eyes a bit at her friend's excuse for coming here.

Kelly ignored her, drinking her coffee. "So how much longer until school lets out?" She didn't really want to hear the answer.

"A month."

She cringed. She didn't want to wait that long, so she changed the subject slightly. "How're you planning to bide your time once summer rolls around?"

The other girl shrugged, not really thinking over her answer. "Kung fu, hacking. Work."

Kelly nodded at the expected answer. She took another sip of coffee.

Amelia put her cup down and tapped her fingers on the rim, musing for a while. "I hate my name," she said finally.

Kelly stared at her. What had suddenly brought this on? "Okay...."

"I'm serious," she said, detecting the disbelief in her friend's voice. "It doesn't fit me at all. I hate it."

"Your name is fine, Ames."

She sighed, wishing, as she often did, that her one and only friend was easier to reason with. "Close your eyes."

Hesitating only a moment, Kelly decided to humor her. She took another sip from her mug then put it down, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now, picture what you think someone name Amelia Michelle Harper would look like, what they would act like, everything." She waited a moment, watching the barely detectable, half-annoyed, half-amused look cross her face. "Now look at me."

She was met with a blank stare for a moment, then, "Okay, I see your point."

Amelia shook her head. Kelly was the best friend she could ask for, but sometimes... she could be _very_ stubborn. Like now. She did it on purpose, she just knew it. It was her very own kind of annoyingly twisted humor.

"So did anything else bring this on?" she asked. "I mean, other than the fact that you hate your name and it doesn't fit you at all, why would you want to change it?"

"That's not enough reason?" Amelia's annoyance was beginning to show.

"Sure it is, but I know you; you always have a major reason for doing anything." Although she was more or less immune to her friend's 'Scary Face', she took it as a sign of warning, and would back down when she received it. Like now.

Amelia waited a moment before speaking, face becoming calm again. Her voice had lowered to just above a whisper. "Computer hackers don't use their real names. It's virtual suicide. You might as well turn yourself in to the FBI."

Kelly let out a long, low breath. "You do realize hacking, especially into major computers, is _illegal_, right?"

"Of course I do." Amelia gave her what she had come to know as her version of a reassuring smile, though no one else would see it that way. "But if that's the price I have to pay to find out where my mother went, then so be it."

Her friend sighed heavily. "You're not gonna let that go, are you?"

"I deserve to know why she abandoned me," she said, her voice stoic. 

"Don't you think that's a little harsh, saying she _abandoned_ you?"

"What would you call it?" The slightest bit of pain had crept into her eyes.

Kelly sat in silence, unable to respond.

"Harper!" yelled someone at the counter. Manager. Not the most likeable of women. "Break's over."

***

"So what're you going to do about it?" Kelly asked as they made their way home from the subway station. "The name thing, I mean."

"I don't know." She moved from walking on the sidewalk to walking along the top of a narrow brick wall surrounding someone's tiny front yard. "I'll just wait for an inspiration, I guess. You know, it wouldn't hurt for you to pick another name for yourself."

"Why?"

"Kelly doesn't fit you very well, either," she rationalized. "Granted, it fits better than Amelia does me, but not by much."

"Why?" she asked again. "I mean, I don't like it, but I don't have any real reason to change it, or any idea of what to pick."

"You said it yourself. Your name not fitting you and you not liking it is plenty of reason to change it. And I don't have any more idea of what to pick than you do."

She shrugged as if agreeing with her, then fell silent. She was soon watching Amelia's balancing act on the low wall. It was almost completely dark outside, enough so for the streetlights to come on, and it had gotten cold. Kelly's jacket was thin, as she had expected it to still be light out when she went home, so she walked quickly to get back as soon as possible. And Amelia, despite having to keep her balance so carefully, was matching her pace.

"How do you do that?" she asked with a slight note of disbelief.

"Do what?" Amelia barely seemed to notice what she was doing. With the ease she had, she might as well have been walking next to Kelly on the sidewalk.

"That balancing thing. The wall can't be more than two inches wide. And you don't even look like you're trying!"

She looked down at her feet, then shrugged. "Mind over matter, I guess."

She jumped down to the pavement when the row of houses ended.

She let her eyes wander, not paying attention to what she was seeing. She was thinking about her name, the one she would use as a hacker. It would have to be something good, something original. Like any appropriate name would, it should reflect her. Tell who she was. It needed to give off a sense of strength, of self control, importance. Something memorable.

And it would have to stick. David, unlike most, changed his alias constantly. If ever they asked why, he would tell them a different excuse every time. Amelia, on the other hand, wanted something that would hold fast; stay with her so to remind everyone exactly whom they were dealing with.

It did not seem like it would be an easy call.

***

Between where they were and their apartments about two blocks away, was an old church. Both she and Kelly could describe its every detail from memory. They passed it at least twice a day going to and from school. It was small, but many of the people who lived nearby could still be found there every Sunday morning. The name of the church was printed on a sign that could be seen from cars passing in the street. It was written out in plain black lettering, most of which had half faded away. For some reason she could not think of, some of the words had faded more than others. But right now, one word, one single word, was so clear that it seemed as if it had just been painted on yesterday.

_Trinity_.

She instantly had the thought of making that her hacker alias and new name.

The rational side of her mind immediately tried to brush away the idea. For one thing, it referred to a male deity, nothing for her to use. For another, she wasn't much the religious type. She'd never attended any kind of religious ceremony in her life. And besides, what kind of a name was that, anyway? 

But then... Trinity.

She rolled the name over in her head, thinking, even long after she got home. While it's meaning may have been male, the word itself sounded more feminine, if you thought about it. It exuded a sense of power, of purpose. Of courage and confidence, of a leader. A fighter. But it also spoke of a person who was compassionate, someone who cared about others.

It radiated everything that described her.

The more Amelia thought about it, the more she was convinced: Trinity was the perfect name for her.

***

Amelia, or, as she had already begun thinking of herself, Trinity, was sitting on the edge of her bed, lacing up her boots when she heard the tap at her window. Not even bothering to look up from what she was doing, she reached over and unlatched the window lock. Kelly dropped beside her on the bed.

"Where're you off to?" she asked lightly, fingering the bedspread.

"Bored, are we?" Amelia asked, moving to tie up her other boot.

Kelly glared at her out of the corner of her eye. "Do you have _any_ idea how much people hate it when you do that mind-reading thing?"

"Yes." There was a barely detectable humor in her voice, and a smirk to match. "That's partly why I do it so much."

She glowered at her friend again. When she had finished with her shoes and stood to retrieve her bag, she repeated her first question. "So, where're you going?"

"Bargaining," she answered simply, stepping out into the mid-morning sunlight on the fire escape.

Kelly followed her down the steps, confusion written plainly on her face. "About what? I thought we you were already getting to be better at hacking than David is."

"I am. It's not about that."

"What then?"

Amelia let herself drop the last few feet that separated the ground and the second story catwalk, closely followed by her friend. "_Someone_ has to teach me how to ride a motorcycle."

***

The two girls remained quiet during the entire walk to the subway station. It was not until their train pulled in that Amelia spoke again.

"I picked a name," she said nonchalantly, stepping up onto the car. "One for you, too, actually."

"What, hacker names?" she asked as they took two seats near the back.

Amelia nodded.

"Go on," Kelly urged. "What's yours?"

"You're going to think it's stupid," she said, almost ruefully. "You're going to think they're _both_ stupid."

"Oh well," she said, poking her in the shoulder. "Tell me."

Amelia brushed her hand away. She could be very annoying sometimes. "Fine," she said, not looking at her friend. "Trinity."

Silence. Turning, she saw that Kelly was staring at her, blank faced. Finally she spoke, very slowly and with the slightest bit of an "are you insane?" tone thrown in:

"_Trinity_?"

Amelia sighed and shook her head, the smallest traces of a smile pulling at the corners of her lips. "The next time I tell you you're going to think something is stupid, are you going to listen, or are we going to have to go through this again?"

"But... _Trinity_? Where did you come up with that?" She still looked incredulous.

"The church down the street. You know which one. We pass it every day."

"I figured as much." Kelly was getting just the least bit impatient. "But why that _specifically_? I mean, it's -"

"I know, and I'm not religious, blah, blah, that's why I didn't want to use it at first. But if you really think about it, it fits." She gave her words a tone that served to let whoever she was speaking to know: whatever she said, do it.

"Well..." Kelly murmured after a minute or two of rolling the name over in her mind. "I guess. Maybe... a little...."

"There, you see? You need to have a little more faith in your best friend."

"Well I have to," Kelly smirked, "you're God now."

Amelia rolled her eyes and groaned in distaste. Kelly ignored her. "Fine. So what glorious name have I been blessed with?"

An evil grin spread across her face at this. "Well, _this_ one you're not only going to think is stupid, but you're also going to hate it."

"Try me. Only took me a minute to like yours."

The evil grin on her face only got wider.

"Switch."

She remained quiet for a moment. Then, dismissively, "Fine. Fine, that's fine." She turned away, seemingly through with the conversation.

Amelia knew better. She didn't like the name, but because she wanted to prove Amelia wrong - as she so rarely was - she was acting as if she loved it.

_Three... two... one_....

"God, Harper, where do you come up with this stuff?" she sighed, disbelievingly. There it was. It drove her nuts trying to pretend she liked something she didn't.

"I don' know what you're complaining about. It fits you perfectly."

"And how would that be, exactly?"

"Two reasons," she said calmly, ticking them off on her fingers. "A: you always want to change everything about everything. B: you can never make up your mind - always 'switching' your answers and choices."

"You are insane, Harper," she sighed heavily.

"Trinity will do just fine."

Kelly stared at her yet again. "You actually want me to _call_ you that?"

"Of course, Switch." Insert evil smirk here.

She fell against the back of the seat. "You're never gonna call me Kelly again, are you?"

"Not really."

"You're going to call me Switch from now on?"

"Most of the time."

"And there's absolutely nothing I can do about it, is there?"

"Nope."

***

The motorcycle shop they went to was up near Times Square. It was a tiny store, wedged into an old strip mall. It had been there longer than anyone could remember, and was easily one of the most successful motorcycle retailers on Manhattan Island.

"Do you know which one you'll get?" Switch asked, looking around as they stepped inside.

"I had it narrowed down to two, but I picked it out last night." Trinity gestured to one on display in the window.

Examining the black bike carefully, then quickly scanning the rest of them, Switch could easily tell why she had chosen this one. She could easily picture Trinity on this one. Moving around to the side of the bike, her eye caught on something that made her smile and look up at her friend.

"Might I assume that the name had some influence over your decision?"

Written in silver paint across the front of the bike was the brand name Triumph, and across the back were the words Speed Triple.

"Yes, it did. Good eye."

One of the sales clerks came up behind them just then. "Hello, ladies," he said politely. Trinity eyed him for a moment. He wore a faded pair of blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt. Other than the small nametag pinned onto his shirt, he looked as if he had just gotten off of a motorcycle himself. "Anything I can help you with?"

Ignoring the fact that he was obviously flirting with them, Trinity spoke: "Yes, actually. There is."

"Well, if you're interested in a motorcycle, I could certainly help you pick one out." His smile was getting really irritating.

"Okay, Kyle," she said, reading off of his nametag. "Three... no, actually, four things. Number one: stop flirting with me."

His face faltered at that. An amusing look, really.

"Number two: I don't even have my license yet. Three: I don't have the money for it yet. And last, but most certainly not least," her face betrayed no hint of emotion, but her voice made it clear that she was a bit annoyed, "when I _do_ get a motorcycle, it's going to be _that_ one." She pointed to the Triumph Speed Triple in the window.

He took a moment to regain his composure, glancing at the bike she had indicated.

"That one's not exactly a -" he began, but was cut off by Switch, who was absentmindedly looking around the room.

"If you value your life, you won't finish that sentence." She turned to look at him, knowing full well that he was going to say something along the lines of Trinity being female. "Because if you do, she'll make sure you never see the light of day again."

Kyle looked over at her. Her face and stance were perfectly calm, but there was a lethal look to her eyes that left no doubt as to what Switch had said.

"What I need you to do," she said quietly, anticipating his question, "is teach me how to ride it."

He thought over her request for a moment. "Can you pay me for it?"

Switch leaned over to her and whispered in her ear, "Why is it that whenever you go off 'bargaining' for something, they always want money?"

She looked at her over her shoulder. "That's why it's called bargaining, because I don't have what they want." She turned back to Kyle. "I'll have enough money to buy the motorcycle in a few months. And I know for a fact that you get paid on commission here. A commission that I'd make sure _you_ got if you helped me out."

It was often disturbing, how Trinity always seemed to know just the right buttons to push to get people wrapped around her finger.

"Okay," Kyle shrugged. "You got me. I'm in."

***

Even half-asleep, she could tell that something was amiss. She moved in the tiny bunk to be closer to him, but he wasn't there. She stirred in her sleep, her senses slowly coming into focus. She sat up and swung her feet around to the floor, turning on the fluorescent light by the computer screen. Looking around the tiny room of old and rusted metal, she saw no sign of him. His boots were gone.

She sighed and pulled on her own shoes. He had been doing this too much lately. She walked down the cramped corridor outside their cabin and up the ladder just around the corner. Up on the main deck, she gave only a brief glance to the dusty plaque on the wall.

__

Mark III No. 11

Nebuchadnezzar

__

Made in U.S.A.

Year 2069

Rounding the corner, as silently as she could in her combat boots, she found him in the Core. He had apparently taken up watch duty and sat in front of the bank of terminals that displayed the Matrix. Careful not to trip over the bundles of wires that ran the length of the ship, she slowly crept up behind the operator's chair, snaking her arms around her lover's shoulders.

"You'll go blind if you keep looking at computer screens 24/7," she chided him gently, whispering in his ear. "And I don't think you realize how cold the beds get when it's just me."

He smiled at her urgings to get him to go back to sleep. "Go to bed, Niobe."

"Funny," she said, her voice growing a bit more serious, "I was just about to say the same thing to you." When he said nothing, she sighed again, and returned her arms to her side. She moved to stand in front of the screens, where he could see her clearly.

"Morpheus, you have to take it easy." There was a mixture of concern and disapproval in her tone. She spoke again before he had a chance to say anything. "I don't know if she's the One or not, but if she is, it won't help for you to loose sleep over watching her. We just started monitoring her, and the Agents don't know a thing yet - she doesn't need such close scrutiny."

He said nothing, but Niobe knew what he was thinking: he was sure. There was something about this girl, something different. Something special. He couldn't put his finger on it exactly, but it was there. A Gift.

"And since I _am_ second-in-command," she said, a hint of mirth in her voice, "I believe I become temporary captain if, for whatever reason, you are out of commission. And I think you're just a bit too tired to be making any rational decisions, so..." She leaned over the chair until their faces were just a few inches apart. "I'm ordering you to go to bed."

"Niobe -"

She cut him off with a gentle kiss, pulling away after a few seconds.

"Go get some sleep. I'll come down as soon as Silver's shift starts. I'll get you if anything happens."

Slowly, reluctantly, he stood from the chair, kissing her lightly on the cheek before making his way down to the cabin they shared.

***

"You're turning into a puppy, did you know that?" Trinity called over her shoulder as she went through her stretches on the grass. "You've been following me everywhere lately."

"I get bored. If you'll recall, I don't have a job, martial arts lessons, hacking lessons and motorcycle lessons, unlike some people, so my schedule is relatively open. And considering that school's almost out, I don't have a lot of homework to occupy my time." Switch sat down on ground a few feet from her, hugging her knees to her chest. "So whatcha doin'?"

"Just practicing. I just felt like I wasn't doing so well on some of my moves lately, so I've been coming here to work on them." She stood up and brushed the bits of grass off of her legs. "I've gotten a lot better just in the last week or so."

"That mind-over-matter thing?" Switch asked, picking at a piece of grass.

"Annoys ya, huh?" There was Trinity's evil grin again. That annoyed her, too.

"Immeasurably. So how much better are we talking about here?"

"I'm not sure, I haven't tested it." She walked several paces back. "But we could find out. I'll do a jump-kick. Just tell me where I start the jump."

***

"Morpheus," said Phoenix, half-winded as he rushed into the mess hall, "I really think you should see this. It's that new prospect you've got us watching."

"What happened?" asked Niobe urgently.

There was a look of amazement on his face. "She's doin' stuff I've only seen Rebel Fighters do."

Looking around at each other for only a moment, the entire crew of the Nebuchadnezzar rushed up to the Core to see what Phoenix was talking about.

***

Switch stared at her friend wide-eyed, then spoke slowly as she walked to the spot where she had leapt from the ground. "Trinity.... That had to be at least twelve feet...."

"What?" she demanded after a moment, disbelieving. "That can't be." She drew a line in the ground with the toe of her shoe, marking where she had landed, and walked the length of ground between her and Switch. "That's not possible...."

"And you were really high up, too...."

"Are you sure?" She was dumbfounded, seeing just how far she had supposedly jumped. She stared for a well over a minute. "I guess the mind-over-matter thing works better than I thought."

"Do it again," Switch urged her, excitement suddenly replacing her disbelief. "Do it again!"

***

After only moments of staring at the screens in amazement, Morpheus moved over to one of the chairs used for hacking into the Matrix, setting up the loading programs on the small touch-screens.

"What are you doing?" Apoc asked as Niobe moved to do the same.

"I want so see this in person," Morpheus said simply. "The rest of you wait here."

Tank took his place in the operator's chair, picking out her location and the closest place he could load them up. Meanwhile, Dozer moved to plug in his captain and second-in-command.

***

"This is getting scary," Trinity mused into her hands as she knelt on the grass after a half-dozen jumps. "But a cool scary."

"You do realize that you're defying every law of physics and nature, right?"

She looked up at Switch with one of her rare smiles of amazement.

***

"Where is she?" Morpheus asked into the cell phone as he and Niobe stood alone in the Construct.

"Ironically enough," Tank said into the earpiece, "Prospect Park. A field at the south end. I've got you pretty close."

He shut off the phone and put it back into the pocket of his coat. They suddenly found themselves suspended in midair, a city rushing up at them. When their feet touched ground, they were standing on a sidewalk in a lush park.

Just around the curve of the path was a field, in which their new prospect was testing her new-found skills. And, apparently, showing her friend as well. They both moved to stand beneath a large tree on the edge of the field. Niobe leaned casually against it's trunk, watching the teenager.

Morpheus took out his phone again and hit the 'send' button. "Tank, be sure to get a copy of the code."

Niobe heard the faint reply. "Already on it."

She was quiet for a few minutes after he returned the phone to it's pocket.

"You really think she's the One?"

He smiled slightly. "Yes. I do."

She let out a barely audible sigh.

"But you don't." It was a statement, not a question.

"I don't know what to believe. I really don't. I want to," she said sincerely. "I want to believe that someone will come along and destroy this... prison, free us all, destroy the machines, give us back our planet. I want to believe that I'll live to see the end of this, but...."

"But what?"

"But it just seems impossible."

He was quiet for a moment, considering her words. "Niobe -"

"I'm serious, Morpheus. What if this, the Prophecy, the One, everything...." She let her sentence fade away, not wanting to hear the words that would finish it.

"You just have to trust me, Niobe."

"I want to, Morpheus. I really do. You just make it so damn hard."

***

Well, as I've said, I'll be computerless for over a week, but I'll try to write at least one chapter down on paper while I'm in San Diego.

R+R! : )


	4. Stranger's Comfort

First of all, for anyone who doesn't already know, The Golden Spoons are fanfic awards that are basically the Emmy Awards of Matrix fanfiction. And _I_, yours truly, was nominated for best Work in Progress!!! : ) Yes, I'm bragging, and yes, I know I'm bragging. But I never in my wildest dreams thought my story would be this popular, let alone get nominated for this (and after only three chapters!).

Thank you very much to whoever nominated me! :)

Revised version of chapter.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Four

Stranger's Comfort

***

There was an old saying, "If walls could talk...." She had never heard anyone say anything beyond that part of it, if there even was anything beyond those four words. But, in her own mind, she had always assumed that it meant that they would tell the stories of things they had been witness to. Stories of birthdays and anniversaries. Of families and friendships.

And she often found herself wondering if the same held true of other things. Held true of old benches, of hills and endless trees. If so, then Central Park could tell of more memories than any house ever built.

That tiny island of green in the urban sea, it seemed, knew everything. It had been introduced to people from every corner of the world, as well as almost everyone in New York City. Some people only came here once in a very rare while. Others, however, made regular and frequent visits.

Trinity was one of them.

When she was little, her mother would take her on walks around the park. If she had made a little extra money in tips that day, they would get ice cream, or maybe go to the park's local zoo. When Switch had moved into the apartment building, they would make similar trips, alternating whose mother would take them. When middle school had arrived, bringing with it much more homework, the pair could be found at one of the picnic benches, working away.

And then, sometimes, Trinity just came her to think. To sort out her thoughts when they were almost at the point of overwhelming her. These were rare occasions, and she alone knew about them. Most often she knew the source and cause of her troubles. She could determine what was wrong and then fix it. It was just like a computer: you trace a problem to its source and then eliminate it.

But today was different. It was a nagging, undeniable and overwhelming depression, whose source she could not pinpoint. A virus that eluded detection and deletion, making itself known only through the disruption of programs.

It had been happening for days. She tried to ignore it, but to no avail. She found her mind uncontrollably returning to the awful feeling in the pit of her stomach. Something was wrong. It was spreading from herself into the people and world surrounding her... or maybe it was the other way around.... Nonetheless, the nagging continued to eat away at her.

And thus, she found herself on a bench in Central Park, overlooking a low, green field of playing children. She envied them. She found herself with the unusual wish that she was once again one of them. To not know that the world wasn't as perfect as they thought. To just play, without the deep-seated knowledge that something, some underlying aspect of the world, was wrong.

But she knew that she couldn't. You couldn't live a life of ignorance and oblivion.

Trinity barely noticed when she gained company beside her on the bench. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw an older woman pull a half-full bag of birdseed out of her oversized-purse. Her eyes and mind continued to wander as countless sparrows, pigeons and crows flew in to take part in the free-for-all.

"Interesting," said the woman after a while, a smile on her face, "isn't it?"

Trinity unnoticeably snapped out of her daze, quickly glancing around to see who it was that this woman was speaking to.

"The birds, I mean," she continued, with a note meant to say, _Yes, I'm talking to you_.

Trinity turned to face her, examining her carefully. She was black, with short, curly hair stopping a bit above her shoulders. Her clothes were old-fashioned, but they seemed to fit her. Very grandmotherly and friendly.

She continued speaking, watching the birds as she threw small handfulls of seeds at them. "They look for what they want, and then go after it once they find it. And the rest of them aren't sure what they want, but when they see it, they know it, and they'll do whatever it takes to get it."

Trinity began to turn around, thinking that the woman was just making small talk. She murmured a small, "Mm-hmm."

"A lot like you, really," she stated simply.

Trinity snapped back around to look at her, her every defensive guard coming up.

"Excuse me?"

"Oh, don't act so surprised, dear." Her voice was calm, almost humorous. "You know what I'm talking about. Always have. You know exactly what I mean, even if no one else seems to."

There was something in this woman's voice and face, something that she couldn't pinpoint, that let some of Trinity's guards drop - she could trust her.

"... That something's wrong with the world?" she asked carefully.

"Bingo."

Alright. So they'd established that, somehow, this woman knew that Trinity felt something was misplaced. Now there was only one question:

"So how do you know about that?"

She turned to look the younger girl in the eyes for the first time, smiling kindly. "I know a lot more than you think, Trinity."

She paused for a moment, regaining her composure as she let it sink in that this woman knew, not only her name, but her _hacker_ name. Something only Switch and David knew.

"How?" she asked bluntly after a long silence.

The woman chuckled softly, returning her attention to the impatient birds. "Well, that I cannot tell you."

"Humor me." Trinity allowed the slightest bit of annoyance into her voice.

She full and outright laughed at this. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you, Kid."

Silence.

"Not yet, at least." She carefully looked over Trinity's face. "But, in a year or so...."

She did not miss the young girl's questioning stare. She was quite clearly not amused.

"Alright." She pulled her bag back onto her lap, returning the birdseed to it's place. She then pulled out what looked like a folded business card. "I'll get to the point." All joking was gone from her tone, and she was being completely serious.

"You know something's wrong with the world, something bad -"

"But I don't know what it is."

"- But you want to. Now, I won't lie to you, it will not be easy finding that out, but I can give you one piece of advice."

She handed Trinity the folded paper, which she took, albeit slowly and hesitantly. She did not open it.

"Find whatever information you can about this man. Chat rooms, hacking, whatever you have to do. _Track him down_. Find out as much as you can."

The woman stood, about to leave. But before she did, she said one last thing.

"You know there's something terribly wrong with the world, Trinity. All I can tell you is that that man can answer all of your questions about everything. If you can manage to contact him, you can help make it better." She smiled at her one last time, gesturing down to the card.

Watching the woman's face for anything out of the ordinary, Trinity slowly looked down to the paper and undid the lone fold, revealing a blank card with a single, hand-written name on it.

__

Morpheus.

She slowly looked back to the woman when she spoke again. "I know things haven't been easy for you, Trinity," she said sympathetically. "But that's no reason to loose hope."

Her face slowly changed into a smile as she turned to walk off, while Trinity looked back to the paper in her hands, reading over the name several times.

"You just have too much of that to give up."

She stared at the card, wondering at who this person could possibly be. When she finally did look up, she realized that she was alone. She was by herself, with no company save for the few children playing on the nearby hill.

***

"Yes?" said the voice over the intercom, one she had learned to recognize as his father.

"It's Amelia, is David there?" she asked quickly. "I need to use his computer."

"Yeah," said a new voice, "I'm here. Come on up."

She turned off the intercom and moved to press the call button on the elevator, ignoring the superior look she knew the concierge was giving her. She had come to recognize this almost immediately, as it was a stare he always gave both her and Switch whenever they came over. She shot him a death glare of her own as the double doors slid open, admitting her into the elevator.

"Twelfth floor," she said dismissively to the operator. She stood in the center of the floor with her perfect, business-like posture, watching the numbers above the door light up one by one and waiting impatiently for it to hit twelve.

When she heard the faint ding of a bell that signaled they had reached the appropriate floor, she stepped through the doors before they even had a chance to fully open.

She briefly nodded to David, who was standing just outside, waiting for her, before hurriedly walking off to his room.

"Hey, Amelia," he called, jogging slightly to keep up. "Slow down - what's the rush?"

She remained silent until they had reached his severely oversized bedroom, where she wasted no time in starting up his computer.

"Have you ever heard of someone named Morpheus?" she asked him curtly.

"Yeah, actually," he said, crossing his arms and looking at her cynically. "He's a terrorist."

Trinity's head snapped around to look at him over her shoulder. "A terrorist?"

David nodded. She slowly turned around, staring at nothing.

"That can't be right...." She said quietly.

"Well, Trin, you're usually qualified as a terrorist when you just attack random people and places with lots of guns and bombs and about half a dozen other people helping you."

"No," she said after a long silence, just above a whisper. "That can't be it."

***

But, apparently, it could be. Hacking into the databases of multiple newspaper computers, she found more than enough proof as to what David had told her. Dating back for years were reports of attacks, supposedly lead by Morpheus himself. Attacks on government buildings, military bases, businesses, apartments. And there were almost always casualties. Lots of them. SWAT team members and police, when they managed to catch up with him, but there were also regular, uninvolved people killed. People who had nothing apparent to do with the situation, other than the fact that they seemed to have gotten in the way. Those people were usually shot, occasionally stabbed.

But, in truth, there was no pattern to it. Not to the locations of the attacks, nor the methods used. Not to the people killed, to when or where. And even stranger, he had never been caught. Both he and the small group that always accompanied him seemed to vanish into thin air after every attack. They weren't seen or heard from again until the next attack.

But that made no sense, and she knew it couldn't be true. Though she had no idea who the woman at the park was, nor how she knew all of those things. She knew only that she spoke the truth, and that she could be trusted. Trinity did not know how she knew this, but there was not a thought in her mind to suggest that her trust was misplaced.

There had to be another side to this story. There just had to be.

***

"Trinity, it's getting late," David said groggily, rubbing his eyes. "You should get going before my parents kick you out."

She looked at the clock on the wall above the computer. He was right. It was almost ten, and she had been on the computer for hours, searching. She had ransacked the databases for every national newspaper and news show. She had been in at least a dozen chat rooms, asking if anyone knew anything about Morpheus.

But, she supposed, it probably was time for her to be getting home.

***

If nothing else, she had at least gotten more information than the newspapers had provided. A number of people in the chat rooms she had visited had heard of Morpheus. Few knew very much, but she had gathered a few things.

Many of the people she had talked to considered him to be, not a terrorist, but some sort of rebel fighter. There were a number of theories as to what the rebellion was against, but the most common thread was that it was against something known as the Matrix. That, in and of itself, had even more theories to it than Morpheus did.

On a fellow hacker's suggestion, she switched her search to the Matrix, hoping that would provide more answers. In the few short hours she had been on-line, she had gathered several things about it:

If there in fact was a resistance to it, it must be a bad thing. That she had determined on her own.

She had found a number of forum postings on the subject. They all contained brief messages, all of them cryptic.

"The Matrix is everywhere."

"The Matrix has you."

"The Matrix is the world that you know."

But one message stood out in her mind. The longest one she had encountered, and the most confusing. "The Matrix is as Pandora's Box: it is the source of all that is wrong with the world." She had no idea what that could possibly mean, and, apparently, neither did anyone else she had talked to.

Everyone seemed to agree that the Matrix was some sort of computer program, but exactly what kind was highly controversial. Some believed that it was a kind of top secret AI program, being developed by the government for reasons that were anybody's guess. Others thought it to be a program used for massive surveillance, but the how and why were still unknown. 

That was all she had been able to find out in her short tine in the chat rooms.

***

"Where were you yesterday?" Switch asked as they sat down under a tree a nearby park. "You didn't get home until really late. What happened?"

Trinity ran her hands through her short hair a few times, thinking over her reply. "I'm not exactly sure."

Switch watched her closely, patiently waiting for her reply.

"I went to Central Park after work, and this woman came to sit next to me...."

"Did you know her?"

"No," she said slowly, as if still trying to process the information herself. "But from what she said, she knew a hell of a lot about me."

"... What do you mean?"

"I _mean_," she said in a frustrated tone, "that she knew about the dream-world thing, the one I told you about."

Switch nodded.

"And she knew that I think something big is wrong with the world." She stopped for a moment, recalling the previous day. "She knew that my name was Trinity," she said in disbelief.

Switch, just as shocked as her friend, leaned back against the tree trunk. Both were very secretive about their names, Trinity especially, as she was the hacker. As far as they knew, only people she had met online knew the alias, and none of them could put it with her face. Few of them would even think to put it with a girl. So, understandably, this came as quite a shock. Neither moved or spoke for nearly a minute.

"How could she possibly know all of that?" Trinity asked, more to herself than anyone else.

After another brief silence, Switch, trying to lighten the mood, suggested, "Well, maybe she's some kind of oracle."

"This isn't the time for jokes. Anyway..." she pulled the folded card from the pocket of her jeans, and handed it to her. "About knowing that something's wrong with the world, she said that he -" she indicated the name on the card "- could tell me what it was. And if I found him, I could help make it better."

Switch looked over the card, reading the name over and over again, much as Trinity had done.

"So..." she looked up. "Did you find anything yet?"

Trinity let out a long breath. "You have no idea."

***

Trinity carefully looked over the map one last time, tracing the route she intended to take, imbedding it in her mind. Westchester was pretty far away, and it would take them a good half hour to get there, if not longer. But, after all, wasn't getting there half the fun? Especially on your sixteenth birthday, when you finally had the means to get there on your own?

She and Switch had been wanting to go to this club for ages. It was supposedly the best in the state, and it supposedly put every other club the pair had been to to shame.

Trinity smiled slightly to herself, remembering how their latest hobby had started out. She had been bussing tables at the cafe months ago, when she overheard, not completely by accident, one of the customer's conversations. Having just turned twenty-one, he was reviewing to his friends the clubs he had been going to every night for the past week. Apparently irritating them in the process.

"Coolest. Thing. Ever," he said for what could easily be the twelfth time. "I'm telling you, the place was awesome, and the dancing's a total head rush."

A head rush. Now _that_ was something Trinity knew. A little something she had learned when she was still just a child. Something she had nearly forgotten the past few years, but had been reminded of by the words of the woman in the park. She had always described it as "feeling the minds around her." She didn't remember exactly how she had learned of it, but she did remember how it made her feel.

It made you feel - know, really - that you weren't alone in the world, that, no matter how much you may feel like it, there _were_ others. Other people you could lean on, depend on for support.

She had found out, at a very young age, that if you really let yourself go, sank into it, "freed your mind" as Switch had once called it, you could tell that there were other people around you, connected to you, whether you knew it or not. It wasn't that you could see them, or hear them, or feel them, it was that you _knew_ that they were there, beyond the shadow of a doubt.

The woman in the park had reminded her that she knew something was horribly wrong with the world. She had also reminded her of what she always used to do when she felt that way. When she did that, she knew that she was not alone. Whatever was wrong with the world, she didn't have to worry - everything would turn out alright in the end. If she couldn't fix it, then there was surely someone in this vast world of billions who could.

People always talked about the weaknesses humanity had, as a whole. How easily they were corrupted, how easily they turned against each other. How easily they did so many other horrible things. How _human_ they all were.

And that, Trinity felt, was exactly it. True, humans may do stupid things, but, when it really counted, wasn't all of that washed away? Wasn't it exactly the fact that they were, indeed, human, that made them so hopeful in the first place? Made them so willing and determined to see it through the bad times until they became good again?

Remembering what she had not thought of for so long, remembering what had always served to bring hope back to her, she had made the decision then and there to go to the club they had been talking about.

It had turned out to be well worth it.

***

Switch, however, had used the opportunity to nag her best friend, non-stop, for several days.

As best friends, the two had an on-going contest to see who could best upstage the other. Trinity's preferred way was being able to do pretty much anything, and do it well. Switch's domain, among other things, was annoying the hell out of everyone.

She learned of her friend's little adventure the next morning over coffee on the fire escape. Although she had wanted to make little comments throughout the retelling of the story, she managed to keep her mouth shut until the end.

She just shook her head sarcastically. "You know, I never thought my best friend, of all people, would be doing so many illegal things," she joked.

"It's not as if I'm hurting anyone," she said, playing along. "And unless I'm mistaken, you haven't called the cops yet."

Finally, with a little strategic coaxing and the promise that they would leave if she wanted, Trinity had finally convinced her to tag along the next night.

It had been a regular weekend activity for them ever since.

***

Trinity kneeled silently on the fire escape outside the open window. Why exactly it was open was beyond her. October 28th was no time for any sane resident of New York City to have their windows open. They had already begun getting snowflakes.

"Kelly," she called into the living room, using her real name because her brother was there. She turned around, closing her history book and putting it on the table.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Why are you doing homework?" Trinity asked accusingly. "It's Friday. It's my birthday. Besides..." she opened her hand, palm down, revealing a key hanging from one of her fingers. "I have something much more interesting we could be doing."

"What's that for?" Billy asked, nosy as ever.

"None of your business," Trinity said, glaring slightly. She then shifted her focus back to Switch, and said calmly, emotionlessly, "I'll be waiting for you."

She stood and turned to leave, heading back along the catwalk to the stairs by her bedroom window. She stopped, however, when she felt a hand pulling at her wrist.

"Trinity -" she turned around to face her friend, whose voice had become more than a little excited. "You got it?"

"Just got back from Manhattan," she said, twirling the key around her fingers on the ring.

"So?" Switch smirked. "Where are we going?"

"Westchester. We can finally get up there." She smirked, and clutched the key in a fist. "How long do you think you can get your curfew extended?"

Switch turned over her shoulder to the open apartment window. "Well..." she pondered. "Considering that it's a weekend, that it's not only your birthday, but your sweet sixteenth, which calls for celebration.... One." She turned back to Trinity. "Longer if they don't find out that we're going all the way up to Westchester."

"Well then, we'll just have to make sure they don't." She smirked, and turned to walk back along the catwalk. "I'll be waiting for you," she repeated. "Good luck."

***

She slowly sat down on the second step, locking the window to her bedroom. She examined her hands carefully as she brought them back into her lap, flexing her fingers slightly in her new gloves. They were black vinyl, and fit her perfectly.

Twisting and flexing her hands, to see how the light would reflect on them, she stopped when she heard quick, muffled footsteps behind her.

Not waiting for her to say anything, Trinity held up one of the two motorcycle helmets to her, a smirk of triumph on her face.

"Welcome to the Dark Side."

"Come one," she replied, taking her helmet from Trinity. "I want to see this thing."

A look of childish excitement on her face, Switch followed her down the fire escape steps. As soon as they were on the ground, she almost had to run to keep up, being lead around to the front of the building. Parked just against the curb was a brand new, black Triumph Speed Triple. Mint condition.

"And it's all mine," Trinity said slowly, crossing her arms over her chest as she walked up to the bike, admiringly. Switch was slowly circling it, doing the same.

"You do know how to ride this thing, don't you?"

"They wouldn't have given me my license if I didn't," she said in a slightly obvious tone, looking at her out of the corner of her eyes. But that look faded and was quickly replaced by a small grin as she tossed the single key in her hand. "First joyride. This should be fun."

*** 

"Hey," Trinity said, leaning in Switch's bedroom window. She looked up from her desk, where she had been taking notes from her science textbook.

"Hi."

"I'm going up to Manhattan, you said you needed to get something there. I'm going to work - you want to come with me now?"

"Sure." She closed the book and put on her jacket as she climbed out the window.

"What did you need, anyway?" Trinity asked when they had made it down to the street. She pulled out her keys and tossed them in the air a few times.

"I need to get a Christmas present for the Billy Goat," she replied distastefully. "There's a toy store right by the coffee shop."

"You never did tell me why you always call him that," Trinity mused, taking her seat on the front of the bike.

"He was obsessed with animals when he was little, and I just thought up the name one day when we went to the zoo. It stuck. And it annoys the hell out of him, so that's an added bonus."

_Ah, sibling rivalry_, she thought, rolling her eyes.It was quite strong between Switch and her little brother, and often served to reminded her of the good things of being an only child.

***

It seemed that, since even before the two had met, Trinity had a number of highly annoying habits. Not the usual of nail-biting, hair-twirling, or pen-clicking. Those were normal people's nuisances, and Trinity was anything but normal. Her habits were subtle little things that only someone who knew her very well would notice.

Like now. If, for whatever reason, there was something stupid that you did, that you could control and knew was stupid, but you did it anyway, she would rub it in. To make matters worse, she wouldn't do it in an obvious, sarcastic and condescending way. She would merely point it out casually, as if she were telling about the weather. Only someone very close to her could detect the bemusement and tormenting in her voice.

***

"I need caffeine," Switch said tiredly, rubbing her eyes. "I was up way too late last night."

"Ya know," Trinity said quietly, pocketing her keys, beginning the short walk around the corner to the cafe. She kicked up bits of November snow as she went. "Caffeine makes you stay up really late. And then you have to get up early, and you're exhausted because you didn't get any sleep. So you drink more coffee, and you're up late again...."

"Oh, shut up," came the groggy reply just as they turned the corner. "I'm getting coffee, then I'm going to the toy store, then I'm going home and sleeping."

Both stopped short as they were about to enter the cafe, looking into the windows for the first time. It was not unusual for there to be a large number of people there at one time, but this was ridiculous. They were more crowed that she had seen it in over a year of working here, and, judging by the fact that only three of the four registers were open, understaffed.

"Or," Switch said again, suddenly waking up without her coffee, "I could go to the toy store now, and let you deal with the huddled masses over there. Good luck." She patted her friend on the back before moving on down the block.

Setting a determined look on her face, Trinity hurried inside, already unbuttoning her denim jacket as she did so. Just as she was heading for the back room, Sarah, who had only been working there a few months, spotted her.

"Oh, thank God, Amelia, you're here," she said gratefully. She still had a little trouble with getting all the different machines to work. "They're pure evil," she had once said. "I'm telling you, this world is run by machines, and we're all their slaves and no one even realizes it!"

She hurried to the wall of employee lockers, quickly spinning her combination as she took off her two sweaters and gloves. She had barely put her things in and taken her apron out when she slammed the door shut again. She wasted no time in getting out to the main shop and starting up the last register.

"I can help some people over here," she said, looking up only briefly as she waved them over.

***

"Go take a break you guys," Trinity said nonchalantly over her shoulder as she gave the last person their coffee-to-go, "you deserve it."

"You're an angel, Harper," John said, hugging her gratefully around her shoulders.

Her face and voice turned lethally cold. "Don't touch me."

"Okay," he said timidly, letting go instantaneously. Only an idiot would say no to that voice.

She let her eyes wander around calmly, taking everything in. The long lines that had been there not more than five minutes ago were now completely diminished, half the people having left with to-go drinks, the other half sitting around, talking with friends or reading.

Her gaze then moved to a man coming up to the counter. He had been there a while, waiting at a small table by the door. He seemed too tired to be waiting in the long line, so had simply chosen to wait it out. She looked him over carefully as he came over.

He wasn't much older than she was, not more than two or three years. Judging by the size of and obvious weight of the backpack he had with him, he was in college. He was a few inches taller than she was, though in her combat boots, she could almost look him straight in the eye. Eyes that were, she noticed, a deep shade of brown. His hair, on the other hand, was jet black, like her own. Had she been anyone else, she would have thought he was... _cute_. She did, of course, in her subconscious. But she wasn't about to admit that to anyone, even herself.

"You handled that pretty well," he said reverently, smiling at her.

"I'm good at this," Trinity said, staring him in the eye with an unwavering gaze. A gaze that she allowed to be a bit more kind than she normally would for a complete stranger. "I've been working here for a while."

"Get promoted yet?" For some reason that she could not determine, she felt like going along with his small-talk.

"No. But life's never liked me too much." It didn't bother her, though.

"Well, it should." He smiled at her, almost sympathetically. There was something in his words that she didn't often hear. He was flirting with her, quite obviously, as most guys she came across did. But it was more the _way_ he did it. It wasn't the usual tone of someone who hit on every attractive girl he met. It was the tone of someone who didn't have all that much luck or interest in women, but was genuinely sweet to them when he came across one he liked.

"So what do you need?" she asked, straightening up.

"Oh, uh," he stammered, coming back to his senses. He held up an empty thermos, "Just some coffee."

She took it from him, noticing for the first time in the conversation his clothes.

"You're not from around here, are you?" She noted, turning to fill the thermos.

He laughed slightly. "Is it that obvious?"

"You don't dress warm enough for New York," she commented, looking over her shoulder. He was pulling out his wallet, slightly goofy grin on his face.

"I've noticed." This reply was a bit more gloomy than the rest. "I'm here visiting my grandparents for the weekend - I guess I didn't pack enough. Oh," he said as a thought struck him, "is that -"

"Yes, it's got loads of caffeine. You need it." She screwed on the lid and moved back to the counter, taking the money he handed her.

"So, um," he spoke hesitantly, as if unsure if he wanted to ask his next question. "What's you're name?"

"What's yours?" she retorted, handing him his change.

"I asked you first," he smiled, glad that she didn't seem upset.

Trinity stood still for a moment, watching his face. Well, what harm could giving him her name do?

"Amelia Harper," she said quietly.

"Tom." He reached for his coffee, but she put her hand over the top and pulled it back.

"Tom _what_?"

"Anderson," he replied, smiling at her yet again. "Thomas Anderson."

She slowly slid the thermos back to him, and he left, looking back at her one last time before he disappeared out the door.

***

My trip went wonderfully, for anyone who cares. I got some wonderful new clothes (I start high school in less than three weeks). I also got a book called The Matrix and Philosophy ($17.95) and a little blue pin that says "Question Reality." Now am I obsessed or what? :)

So, any guesses as to who this unknown person is? It should be pretty obvious. If it's not... get some sort of mental evaluation.

R+R! :)


	5. Destiny

I am _so_ sorry it took me this long! **Begs everyone's forgiveness** But Ishmael told me about a Matrix message board in The Construct, and I got to reading... and it just kinda sucks you in, ya know? Some of them get all off-topic, and they're really funny. One thread got so off topic that people started discussing which character from Winnie the Pooh would fit best with each character from the Matrix. **giggles** But, anyhow, here's the next chapter.

Revised version of the chapter.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Five

Destiny

***

Some would call her deep for it. Others would call her scatterbrained. But it didn't matter which term was the correct description. The fact was, Trinity could often be found lost amongst her own thoughts. She would mull over whatever was on her mind, trying to find the answers to her questions.

There were always questions. Always.

But wasn't that how it was? If there were no questions, no problems needing solutions, she would not be where she was today. It was the question that drove her. Where the path it led her down would lead, she wasn't quite sure. She tried to think back, to remember just how many times she had made inquiries into the truth. And to where she might be today, had she not asked.

"Hey, Trin," Switch greeted. Her voice jumped slightly as she sat next to her friend. It was a lunch break in mid-April, and everyone was out on the rooftop of the three-story school building, enjoying it.

"Hey," she replied, seemingly only half-aware of what she was saying. _She_ wasn't enjoying the weather.

"Trinity." Her voice was stronger now, to break her friend out of the trance. After a moment, thoughtful, ice-blue eyes looked up to meet hers. "What is it? You said you wanted to talk to me."

She looked away, quiet for another minute or two. "I was over at David's house yesterday, on-line," she stated, slowly, carefully. "I found something on the Matrix. A new message board posting."

Switch's interest suddenly perked, and she straightened up. "Well?" she asked anxiously. "What was it? What did it say?"

She ran her fingers slowly through her jet-black hair, reciting the words from memory. "'The Resistance files are hidden within the database of the IRS.'"

There was a brief moment of silence. "IRS D-Base? Why would they be there, mixed in with tax records and everything?"

"I don't know. Maybe because no one would think to look there. But apparently, someone did. And it just might pay off."

"You're not actually thinking..." she stammered, knowing where this was going, "of _hacking_ it, are you?"

"I don't know."

"You don't _know_? Trinity," she lowered her voice urgently, leaning in so that no one would overhear, "the IRS isn't some school mainframe, it's a _government system_. Besides the fact that you'll never get in, they'll catch you if you so much as try!"

"I know -"

"And they won't care that you're just sixteen, Trinity, they'll charge you as an adult for something like this! Do you have any idea how long you'd be in prison for that kind of thing?" Her voice was urgent, and serious, but it had yet to become hasty or irrational.

"I _know_, Switch -"

"And let's just bend all of known reality for about a _second_, and say that you somehow managed to get inside, and found those files. What if the Matrix is some big government thing that they don't want anyone to know about? What do you think they'd do if you _did_ find out?"

"I don't know," she said at last, quietly.

"God, Trinity," Switch said quietly, trying to keep herself from yelling at her for so much as _considering_ something so stupid. "Why the hell are you so obsessed with this? This isn't some virtual reality computer game, this is real, and it's _dangerous_."

Trinity looked away for a moment, composing herself. "I told you how that woman in the park knew so much about me, right?"

"Yes," came the slow, quiet reply.

She turned her face to look her straight in the eye. "Did I ever tell you what she said when I asked her _how_ she knew?"

She shook her head slowly. That part had never been discussed, until now.

"She told me that I wouldn't understand. That I wouldn't believe her if she told me. But that I would in about a year." She paused for a moment, studying her friend's face. "It's been almost a year, Switch."

"So..." she said quietly, after a long silence. "So you think this is your... _destiny_ or something?"

"I _think_ that she knew that something like this would happen if I looked for Morpheus. I think she knew something that I didn't. And I think that I'm closer to an answer than ever."

Both were quiet for a long moment, Switch shaking her head in exasperation. "You are the single most suicidal person I have ever met." She looked up at Trinity with a small, sad smile. "Did you know that?"

"No."

"Well, you are," she sighed. "I swear, I would not put it past you to jump out the window of a skyscraper."

Trinity shook her head slowly, as small smirk on her face, until -

"Oh, no," she groaned. "Not _again_."

Jacob Cromwell was a name that was well known, and feared, around their high school. He had been held back once or twice, and had only been promoted to junior last year. So he was, understandably, bigger than most everyone else was. Within the last few months, however, something had happened that had made him even worse than before. No one had yet figured out what it was exactly, but he was taking it out on every freshman that so much as looked at him wrong.

Today's unlucky victim: a small brunette girl with glasses, who had accidentally bumped into him, dropping the books she was carrying. Jacob, being the bully that he was, was making a huge scene out of it.

"This has got to be the tenth time this _month_," Switch said quietly, watching. "At least."

"I'm getting really sick of him."

The young girl was hurriedly trying to pick up her things and apologize, all the while being yelled at and berated for her clumsiness.

"Bright side," she said, glaring at him even though he couldn't see, "he's probably just as fed up with you as you are with him."

She was timidly trying to back away and leave, but was grabbed roughly by the arm. Seeing that things had suddenly gotten a lot more serious, Trinity was instantly on her feet, weaving her way around the mingling students. Her eyes remained fixed on the incident not far in front of her. The freshman was shrinking back in fear, unable to find a way out of the situation on her own.

"Hey," she said firmly, stepping between the two, "is there a problem?"

"Yeah," Jacob's growled, his anger now directed at Trinity. "_You_."

She glared at him out of the corner of her eye. She turned her head just slightly, looking at the girl with a hint of reassurance. "You okay?" she asked quietly. She received a small nod as the girl clutched her books tightly to her chest.

"_Move_, Harper!" he almost yelled. "I wasn't finished with her!"

"It was a simple mistake." The lethal edge to her voice was becoming more obvious. "I'm sure she'll watch where she's going from now on."

"Hard to watch where you're going when you can't walk, now _MOVE_."

"She apologized. I don't think there's any need to go into this further." She turned around, ushering the freshmen girl away.

"You're really starting to hit a nerve with me!"

"Likewise," she said over her shoulder.

She turned to leave, not letting the worry show on her face. He was always pissed every time she intercepted him, but this was different. Something had changed. Something in his face and voice that she could not place.

"You fail to realize on thing, Harper," he said in a low, angry voice. "I came prepared for you this time."

_Prepared_? What did that mean?

***

Switch watched the events unfold from the bench, one knee drawn up, drumming on the other with her fingers. Same as usual:

Jacob bullies freshmen, she and Trinity watch lividly, Trin goes over and brakes it up, Jacob has a hissy-fit for the rest of the day.

Why Trinity did some of the things she did was well beyond even her best friend. But, for some reason, she seemed to think that it was her personal mission to protect everyone. It had gotten her into trouble more than once. A dozen or so times before they had met, a few more times in middle school... and, not to be forgotten, it was just that fact that wanted to help so much that fueled her interest in the Matrix. And it was that which made her forever insistent that _something_ was wrong.

Much like something was wrong right now. Something about Jacob was different, and it didn't take Trinity's skills to see it. He was always angry after she pulled a potential victim from his reach, but this was different. This time he was more... dangerous. As if -

"Oh, God," she whispered, freezing as she saw what he pulled out of his pocket.

***

"Him _again_?" Silver asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the side of the operator's chair.

"Yeah," Tank said, shaking his head. "I wish I could see his face. Must be pretty funny."

But Silver wasn't listening. Instead she was watching the cascading lines of green code, reading them quickly, and grinning slightly at how calm their prospect was being about it. "That girl's got _some_ self-control," she noted admiringly. "Personally, I would have killed him after two or three dozen times."

She received no response.

"Tank?"

He had been still and quiet for a moment, but then reached out to the double keyboards, typing in commands. "What is that?" he whispered to himself as he focused in on the coding of the two people.

Silver scanned it carefully, looking for whatever it was that he had seen. "Tank, what...." Her eyes suddenly widened, spotting the small strand of code as it appeared on the screen. "Oh, shit."

***

Despite the sudden heaviness of the air, the sudden tension in her muscles at his words, Trinity kept her hand on the younger girl's back, gently pushing her forward. Her mind, however, was moving rapidly, trying to discern what he meant. _I came prepared for you this time_. Whatever he meant by it, it couldn't be good.

"Amelia!" came Switch's voice from across the rooftop, then a small metallic swish behind her - and everything clicked.

She spun around, barely sweeping her arm fast enough to deflect the knife that was aimed at her stomach. In the same motion, she grabbed his fist with her other hand, holding it still as she delivered a swift kick to his forearm. The pain it inflicted was enough to take away his control over his hand, making him drop the knife.

Ignoring it momentarily, he swung a punch at her with his left hand. But she moved faster, blocking it with the side of her arm.

The anger on his face became more visible as he realized that this wasn't going to be as easy as he had originally thought. He sent another chaotic punch at her, this time aiming for her face, but she caught it in her hands. He pulled his arm back, preparing for another hit. Trinity seized the opening, delivering a sharp uppercut to his jaw, and punch in the stomach.

He reeled backward slightly, anger turning to pure, unchecked rage. He came at her again.

_Fine_, she thought. If he wasn't going to back down when he had the chance, if he wouldn't quit while he was already miles behind.... She would make him regret it.

She twisted down and out of the way as he swung at her again. Having hit nothing but air, he nearly lost his balance, and stumbled as he tried to regain it.

The perfect opportunity. Trinity jumped straight up in the air, spinning as she went. Just as she came around to face him, she executed a perfect - and rather painful - side kick, directly to his face.

She landed with an unnatural and cat-like grace, waiting a moment before standing again. Jacob, on the other hand, had fallen flat on his back, moaning in pain. He didn't seem to realize that there was blood coming from his nose.

Trinity glared at him superiorly, angrily. "And you fail to realize that I know Kung Fu," she said in a low, quiet voice. Although, with how deathly silent it had become, everyone had heard it.

"Miss Harper!" Her head snapped up at the infuriated voice that called to her.

Principal.

***

"Okay," Phoenix said with a low whistle, standing up straighter. "She's good. She is _really_ good."

"She _so_ kicked his ass." Silver laughed slightly in amazement.

"Can't wait to see her once she's gotten a little training," Apoc mused.

However, whereas the rest of her crew wore smiles of awe, Niobe's face carried a sullen, grim frown. She and Morpheus stood at the back of the small group, and he did not miss the look.

"Do you believe me now?" he whispered, low enough so that only she would hear.

She would have liked to throw some witty rebuke at him, but knew that it wouldn't be situation-appropriate. It was more a matter of if she _wanted_ to believe him. Part of her wanted to believe in the One. Like she had told him so many times before, she wanted there to be someone to end the war. Someone with such a mind that they could manipulate whatever they wanted within the Matrix. She _wanted_ to believe that everything would be okay in the end.

But then her rational side would kick in. The side that got her out of every battle alive, the side that made her a great leader... the side that always seemed to win. It nagged at her mind, telling her not to get her hopes up. Telling her that the higher your hopes, the farther you fell when you were proved wrong. Furthermore, it constantly reminded her that she didn't believe that one single person could possibly stop the machines and destroy the prison they had created for humanity. After all, hadn't the first One only been able to free a few people, only start things off on the right foot? What was to make anything different this time around?

As much as she didn't want it to be, Niobe's rational side always seemed to be more compelling. Even now. Yet somehow, despite that -

"I'm beginning to."

"I don't believe it," Tank said, a grin growing wider and wider on his face as he examined the coding. "She gave him a fractured arm -"

***

"- and a broken nose!" He was pacing the floor of his office angrily, ignoring every word that came out of Trinity's mouth.

"As I've told you _before_, Principal Hollander," she said, fighting very hard to maintain herself, "I was acting in self-defense. He came at me with a knife, what else -"

"You don't seem to realize, Miss Harper, that this establishment, unlike those you may have _previously _attended -" it was all Trinity could do to keep from losing it when he made such a remark, quite obviously pertaining to her 'social class' "- prides itself on being safe. I have been principal at this school for twelve years, and in that time, there have been less than a dozen fights, and none of them were particularly serious. Until today."

He stopped his pacing, and turned to look down at her as if she were something he might scrape off the bottom of his shoe. "I had always thought the best of you, Miss Harper. That's why I offered you a scholarship to attend this school, because I trusted that you would be a good addition to the student body."

"You _offered_ me a _scholarship_," she growled, dangerously close to her breaking point, "because every other person here has an IQ equal to that of a five-year-old!"

"But apparently, that trust was misplaced. I had thought you were above attacking someone simply because they were a bit angry with you."

"I did _not_ start that fight," Trinity said, standing up in anger. "I only did what I did because he had a knife, and he was going to use it! Ask Kelly Miller, she'll tell you!"

"Your friend," said the vice principal as she closed the door to the office, "has been escorted back to class. The office staff was getting a bit tired of her very rude insistences that you did nothing wrong."

"It's two against one, and you're going to believe _Cromwell_?"

"Jacob," said Principal Hollander, loosing his patience with her, "is very lucky that you didn't give him a concussion."

"I did _not_ -"

"That's quite enough, Miss Harper. You are in enough trouble as it is, but seeing as how I have an injured student to deal with, _you_ will have to wait. So until I can deal with you, you're going back to class."

"For the _thousandth_ time -"

"That's quite enough! Now, are you going to go to class on your own, or will you have to be escorted there like your friend?"

Fuming, Trinity snatched her backpack up from the floor, and stormed out of the office.

***

Trinity spun the combination on her locker, so enraged that she could barely concentrate on the numbers. Why wouldn't they believe her? There were a hundred people who had seen what had happened. They all hated Jacob Cromwell so much that they would undoubtedly be on her side. And surely they had found the knife that had almost ended up in her stomach. So why would they think that _he_ was the victim?

She moved mechanically, not focusing on the books she was putting in her backpack. She froze when her eyes landed on her motorcycle helmet. She was still for over a minute, weighing her two options as all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

Really, what harm would it do? If she stayed, she would probably be expelled, and she could only guess what would happen when her father found out. But if she left.... She had been told that she would understand in a year, and this was just the opportunity she needed.

Without a second though, she grabbed the helmet and slammed her locker shut. She headed straight to the double-doors that lead out of the building.

***

Switch stared at the clock, tapping her fingers slightly on the desk. The vice principal had told her that Trinity would be sent back to class in a few minutes, and the bell was going to ring any second. What was taking so long?

***

She emptied the contents of her backpack onto her desk, making sure everything was out. It was then left open on her bed.

Trinity opened her closet doors, grabbing the first four or five shirts she saw. She tossed them into a messy pile on her bed, then turned back to pick out a few pairs of blue jeans.

***

Switch leaned around the corner, carefully scanning the office for any sign of her friend. She found none. She hadn't been in class, and she wasn't in the office.

She let out a long breath as she leaned against the wall. _Trinity, you better not be where I think you are_.

On each floor, there was a small alcove beside the main staircase of the school. In it was a single payphone. The one on the ground floor was being used by a scrawny little freshmen boy. Normally, Switch would have gone to another one, but she didn't have the time now.

"He'll call you back," she said into the receiver. She put the phone back on the hook, feeling around in her pocket for a quarter.

"Hey!" he yelled. He had a squeaky voice. "I was talking!"

"Well, you can call them back _later_." She pulled two quarters from her pocket. "Here," she said sarcastically, handing him one, "I'll even be _nice_ and give you the money for it."

She put the other quarter into the phone and began dialing the number. She noticed that the younger boy was still there. "_Goodbye_."

"All right, all right."

She punched in the last three digits, pacing as it began to ring.

***

Trinity flicked on the bathroom light, digging through the medicine cabinet for her things. Just as she had pulled out her toothbrush and floss, the phone rang. Quickly depositing her things on the bed beside her clothes, she made it back out to the hallway just in time to answer the phone on the last ring.

"Hello?"

"Trinity, why the hell are you at home?" she asked, palpable anger in her voice.

"I'm fine, Switch, and you?"

"_Trinity_. It's not like you to do this."

She sighed heavily. "I'm not staying here anymore, Switch. I'm just not."

***

She stopped short at those words, staring off into space incredulously. "You're _running away_?"

"Yes, to be blunt about it," Trinity said calmly. "I'm running away. I don't see any reason to stay here anymore, so I'm leaving."

"The _hell_ you are!" she nearly yelled, immediately switching from her usual, calm demeanor to her serious one."

"I am. And you might want to stick with that attitude for a while. Someone'll have to keep Jacob Cromwell away from the freshmen, seeing as how he's not about to be expelled. Feel free to beat him into a bloody pulp if he sets a toe out of line."

"No, no, I won't," she said, rambling now. She did that when she was really angry. "I would only have to take care of Cromwell if you weren't around, but we both know I won't have to, because you aren't going _anywhere_!"

***

Trinity let out her breath slowly, calming herself. It was just like Switch. Always kept an eye out for people she cared for. And she always stepped in when they were about to do something stupid. Of course, it was normally only Trinity who did something she deemed as stupid. Like now.

"There's no reason for me to stay here anymore," she repeated. "I might as well try to find someplace where I can _do_ something useful."

"Do you remember what I said about you being suicidal?" Switch wasn't listening. "Add _stupid_ to that."

"I just think that if I leave now, I might be able find some answers -"

"Oh, not this crap again!"

***

Switch paced around the floor, going as far as the short phone cable would let her. _Why_ did Trinity have to be so stubborn? Couldn't she just be normal and figure her life out when she was in her twenties, like everyone else?

"She _told_ me that I would -"

"- understand in a year? Yeah, I know that, Trinity, you've told me a thousand times! I cannot _believe_ that you're actually doing something this stupid based off of something said to you by some old woman - who, if I might ad, you only knew for all of _five minutes_!"

"Switch -"

"I am _this_ close to coming down there, Trinity."

"Go ahead," she said exasperatedly. "Come down here and tie me to a chair until I come to my senses."

"You think I'm kidding," she mumbled angrily.

"All right. You can come if you want, but I'll be gone by the time you get here."

She shook her head in disbelief. "Trinity...."

***

"Look, Switch," she said. Her voice was more serious now, but at the same time more calm. "I know..." she sighed, struggling to find the right words. "I _know_ that you don't understand how I feel about this. And I don't think I can explain it, but... I just _know_ that this is what I have to do. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is."

***

She leaned against the wall, quietly thinking for a long moment. "There's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?"

She could almost feel Trinity shake her head over the phone. "No," she said kindly, sympathetically.

"Will you at least let me know where you are once you get there?"

"Sure. If I can."

Switch sighed heavily. "Okay. And Trin?"

"Hmm?"

"Be careful," she said, smiling slightly. "I don't want to be watching the news and hear about how they found some unidentified sixteen-year-old girl's body."

"All right," she agreed, with one of her quiet, rare laughs. "Bye, Switch."

"Bye." She hung up the phone slowly, wondering what Trinity had just gotten herself into.

***

Trinity herself was wondering the same thing. She went back to her room and began folding the clothes, then putting them in her backpack.

Maybe this was what they meant when they said "The first day of the rest of your life."

She zipped her bag closed. Putting on her vinyl gloves, she looked around, searching for anything she may have forgotten. But she already had everything she would need.

So this was really it. She was really doing this. It hit her out of the blue what she was about to do. The path she was about to take. Maybe this was all part of her purpose. The thing that life created you for, making you in such a way that you would want, more than anything, to fulfill it. Were that the case, then her purpose was to help people. She wasn't sure how she was to do it yet, but maybe you weren't supposed to until the time came.

Trinity paused for a moment, remembering her the thoughts that had occupied her mind only short hours before. Yes, it was the question that drove her. It was the questions that shaped her destiny. For destiny was the sum of every choice you had ever made. Destiny was the future that you created for yourself, the path you created through life. It was a path that was ever-changing, but most often staying relatively the same, holding true to your purpose.

Perhaps what the woman in the park had said so long ago was true. She had told Trinity that, in a year's time, she might understand everything. Learn the answers to all the questions she had never been able to resolve. It had been, roughly, a year's time. Maybe Switch was right in her joking; maybe that woman was an Oracle. She didn't know. She knew only that she had known Trinity's questions. She had been a guide, showing her where she might find answers. Perhaps the woman had guided her, knowing that she wanted to right whatever was wrong with the world, to a path that would allow her to do that just that. Maybe, just maybe, she could make a difference in the world, as she had always known she was meant to do.

For all she knew, Trinity could very well be taking the first steps on the path she would walk for the rest of her life.

***

And so it begins. 

And one little note: If Trinity's life seems to be anything but normal in this fic, there's two reasons for it. One: Trinity herself is anything but normal, so do you really think her _life_ is going to be normal, even before she starts living on a cold dark ship in the middle of abandoned sewers? Two: When I write, not only do I go out on a limb, but once I'm there, I grow a whole new tree and set up camp over there. :)

**Looks at clock** wow. Only 10:30. It's normally after two when I update.... **sighs** I have to acclimate myself to _normal_ sleeping patterns before school starts. 

R+R!! :)


	6. Database

I'M SO SO SO SORRRYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!! I KNOW, two whole weeks!!! **Beats herself up so that everyone else doesn't have to** But everything's been so hectic lately! Everyone who's at least a sophomore in high school will know how much of a nightmare becoming a freshmen can be! What with getting your books, and orientation, and having to acclimate to a normal sleep schedule, and having absolutely NO time, and.... Anyway, I had wanted to get Trinity unplugged before school started, but that didn't work out. Oh, you don't care, here's the chapter.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Six

Database

***

"Thank you," Trinity said quietly, taking the room key. She quickly made her way down the hall of the motel. It was a relief to be able to walk again - two hours nonstop on a motorcycle was just the trick to stiffen every muscle in a person's body.

She had rented a room in a little motel on the outskirts of Philadelphia. It wasn't much, but it would do just fine. And, more importantly, she could afford it.

She didn't pay much attention when she turned the key in the doorknob; when she entered the tiny room; nor when she leaned against the now-closed door, letting her helmet and backpack fall to the floor. Her mind was still in a state of shock - about everything. But all of it was real, all of it had happened. She really _had_ almost been stabbed, she really had run away from home, and she was really going to go through with this.

Trinity picked her things up off the floor and took them over to the bed, tossing them there carelessly. She peeled off her vinyl gloves, then reached under the nightstand for the phone book.

***

Even for a library, this place was quiet.

It was set up in an old building; she could not guess what the original purpose for it had been. The outside was covered in classic red bricks, white columns on either side of the main entrance. Two sets of double doors led inside. On the right side of the small room between them was an elevator. To the left was a plaque, with "The Philadelphia Public Library" printed in gold letters. Below it were several names, presumably those of the group that had set it up. Contrarily, the inside was much more modern, and obviously renovated.

Trinity carefully moved past people in the front lobby, completely unnoticed. She made her way to the stairs in the center of the room, following the sign labeled "Computer Room" to the basement.

It seemed strange. Strange that, only hours before, she had been suggesting this very idea to Switch. It had been promptly shot down as cyber-suicide, of course, but that had not pulled the idea from Trinity's mind. She knew _why_ it was such an absurd notion, of course: It was a government database, which made it all the more illegal to hack into. It was heavily guarded, employing the best in computer security technology. Furthermore, it was a feat attempted many times before; each one was a failure.

She wasn't exactly sure what made her think that she could crack the IRS D-Base, but her intuition overruled all logic. And thus, she found herself here, in the computer room of the Philadelphia Public Library, preparing to attempt the impossible.

She made her way to the far end of the room, to a computer in the corner. Of the few people present, all of them were using the computers up front. The one she would use was out of easy view, away from any prying eyes. She could easily work there for hours on end, and not a single soul would notice her.

She sat at the computer, glancing around as she dialed up the Internet connection. No one seemed to know she was there. Perfect.

_Here we go_.

***

In many ways, a skilled hacker was like a skilled burglar.

No burglar in his right mind would just go into a house without any kind of planning. It wasn't that simple, or that safe. It was the kind of thing that took careful consideration and preparation.

For starters, you had to know exactly what it was you wanted. Jewelry, money, whatever. Know which programs or files were necessary. Then, you find out which house it was in. Learn where something like that would be hidden. Simple enough. But then, knowing what you want and where you can get it is always the easy part.

From there on out, it was a much more complicated matter. You had to know how to get to the house without being seen; which trees and bushes would provide cover. Knowing where you could bounce a phone signal, which computers you could rout it through to cover your tracks.

Once you knew the lay of the land, there came the much more tedious process of studying the house. Study the architecture, where the doors and windows were located, the layout of the rooms. Ways to get in and out quickly. When it's residents would be home. It was a matter of finding out exactly where the weaknesses in the programming lie, and the best ways of exploiting them.

But, after that, it was just a matter of creating a plan, and executing it at the first available moment. Easy, right?

***

"Think she'll make it?" Silver slowly ran the old comb through her hair, while Phoenix sat next to her, pulling his sweater on.

"Not a chance. Why?" He turned to raise an eyebrow at her. "Do you?"

"Well..." Her voice faded off, at a loss for words. She twirled one of the brunette locks between her fingers for a moment.

"It's been tried before, but it's never been done," he said, in a slightly mocking tone. "Why would this kid be any different? And don't say anything about the One. You know as well as I do that the last time Morpheus thought someone was the One they tried to hack it. I don't think I need to remind you what a disastrous failure _that _was."

It was true. The agents got to him in the middle of the hack. They messed with his head so much that they couldn't possibly unplug him and expect him to survive in the real world.

"I know. But, to be horribly cliche and ironic, 'Third time's the charm.'" She smirked as Phoenix rolled his eyes. She put the comb down and reached across the floor of the tiny cabin for her boots. "And she's not going at it like the others were, you know? She's better than they were -"

"If you'll _recall_," he cut in, "'they' included _you_."

"I know. But she's not going about it like I did, like any of the others did. She's thinking this through. She's planning it out, figuring out exactly what has to be done. She's _studying_ it, studying the computer system. She's figuring out everything she's going to do before she does it. And she knows how to hide. She's not a normal hacker, Phoenix."

"So I noticed. But all that means is she'll make a good Resistance Fighter." He stood up from the bed and walked to the door. "It doesn't mean she'll manage to hack the database."

"If you're so sure," Silver said quietly, challengingly, stopping him in his tracks, "then prove it."

He turned and narrowed his eyes at her. She was smirking at him. He smirked back and leaned his back against the door, crossing his arms. "A week, like always?" he asked mockingly.

"I was thinking two."

"All right, then." He shook her hand as she stood. "It's a bet."

***

Trinity took a deep breath to steady herself before she turned on the computer.

This was it. This was what she had been preparing to do for days. It would be no easy task, but she had confidence in her skills. It was all carefully orchestrated, every detail worked out in her head.

She had the entire day set aside for this. It was just after nine in the morning - the library had just opened. It didn't close until nine at night, so that was a good twelve hours of hacking. It would have been better if her energy had come from a good night's rest instead of coffee and adrenaline, but it would have to do.

She had barely slept the previous night. And her worries seeped into what little sleep she did get. She had been haunted by a number of dreams, all with the same common theme. In one, she would fail miserably at this hack, and have nowhere to go afterwards. Another, and she was caught just after she broke in. The third dream had been, seemingly, much more tolerable; but in truth, it was the worst. She had managed the job, but what she found gave her nothing. No information, no answers.

Trinity shut her eyes tightly for a moment, pushing all those thoughts from her mind. It would do no good to dwell on them. All she could do was hope that she could do this without being caught, and that, when she did, it would provide her with some explanations.

She snapped out of her daze when she saw that the computer was ready. She took one more steadying breath, then set to work.

***

The better part of the morning was spent simply routing the phone signal. She had chosen the computers she would use for this three days ago, when she had first arrived. Some were personal computers; some were business computers. She had bounced the call so in such an intricate and complicated way that it would take a person hours to trace. So, if nothing else, if she was caught, it would be a while before they figured out where to find her. By then she would be long gone.

Once she had gotten that done, reaching the IRS mainframe was the hard part. It seemed like it was nothing but endless firewalls and security blocks. No two were the same, and they all needed to be taken down one by one. Though, on the bright side, it was a long and repetitive task that replaced her fear and worries with boredom and annoyance.

***

"Sweetheart" said the librarian kindly. Trinity's head shot up, and she instinctively changed the screen on her computer. The woman was standing several yards away, so she couldn't see the screen. "We're closing in an hour, so you might want to start finishing up." She turned and walked back to her desk.

Trinity blinked hard several times, willing her eyes to focus on the far-away clock. About 7:55.

_Eleven hours_, she thought, massaging her temples. _I've been working eleven hours, almost nonstop. This had better be damn well worth it_.

She had gotten into the IRS mainframe a few hours back. Unfortunately, accessing any particular file required a number of access codes, none of them more than the Database.

She hated access codes. Loathed them to the depths of her very soul. It was a never-ending nightmare breaking through even one, let alone _this_ many. But, if she was right, this was the last of them.

***

Silver couldn't keep the grin off of her face. She had expected as much from this girl, who was no older than she herself had been when she had attempted this same hack. She had not, however, expected the relative ease with which the task was accomplished.

Only four screens were presently displaying. The usual three that showed the Matrix coding; and one more was rigged to display what Trinity saw on the library's computer. A small box labeled "Password" appeared in the screen. "M8R1X0101" typed across it. She shook her head at that: the obsessed little freak. A moment later, the message changed to "Access Granted."

"Too easy," she muttered, smiling evilly to herself. "Just too easy."

She got up from the operator's chair and sauntered across deck, to the stairs leading to the lower deck. For whatever reason, the nearby door to the mess hall had been left open. She did her best to wipe the mad grin off her face before leaning against the doorframe.

"Aren't you on duty?" asked Dozer, being the first to spot her. The rest of them looked up towards her.

"Yes, I'll get back to that in just a minute. Phoenix," a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she spoke. "I just wanted to tell you that, love you though I do -" she found it impossible to keep a straight face, hearing her next words in her mind, "- you can be very arrogant at times, especially when it comes to things you know nothing about."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "What are you _talking_ about?"

Silver straightened up, ignoring him. "And I must say, two weeks of decent sleep is just what I need."

Realization hit him, and he turned back around in his seat, grumbling angrily and incoherently. He avoided eye contact with anyone, opting instead to stare at the far back wall. His face was twisted into a childishly angry face.

Tank snorted quietly at the sight. "So what did you agree to this time?"

He folded his arms. "Like an idiot, I bet her two weeks of night shifts that the kid couldn't crack the IRS D-Base."

Silver ignored the looks of slight shot that went around the room. She moved to stand behind Phoenix, hugging him around the shoulders. "At least you're mature enough to admit when you're wrong."

He brushed her away when she tried to kiss him teasingly on the cheek, and stood up. "Come on," he said, walking out of the mess hall. "I want proof before I needlessly lose any rest."

"Needs his Beauty Sleep," Tank snickered under his breath, following.

***

Trinity fell back against her chair, taking a long moment to let everything sink in.

So this was what victory felt like. _This_ was what it felt like to do the impossible. She brought her hand up to the back of her neck, massaging the stiffness from it. She stared at the screen a few seconds longer, then let out a little amazed laugh.

The cursor continued to blink in the corner, prompting her to type in a name.

A tiny, nagging fear from an unknown source suddenly gripped her. This was a choice, like so many others that everyone had to make in their lifetime. But she did not know what the reciprocations would be for this one. She could either leave now, and forget all of this... or she could finish what she had started. She did not know where each path would lead, nor which one she would prefer.

She hesitated, thinking. You never really knew where your paths would lead. Only in hindsight can you see how your choices change you. It was simply a leap of blind faith. It was walking from the light into the darkness, and you could only hope that, when you got there, there would either be solid ground to walk on, or you would be taught to fly.

She set her face determinedly. _You'd better grow some wings, Trinity_.

***

The seven crew members stood gathered around the terminals, watching them carefully. The screen that was rigged to their prospect's was still for a minute or two, as if it had simply been abandoned.

They waited anxiously, wanting to see what she would do. Then, slowly, "Morpheus" typed in the screen. A small message appeared: "Searching."

"And down the rabbit hole we go," said Morpheus, just above a whisper.

***

_It worked_... she thought, staring at her screen in shock. _It really worked_.

A data file had appeared on the screen, stats and information appearing below several blurry black-and-white pictures. 

Her attention was closely held by the pictures, no doubt of Morpheus himself. She took in every detail of them and committed them to memory. Scrolling down the page, she found a profile.

__

Alias:Morpheus

Date Unplugged:9.12.77

Date of Birth:7.06.59

Ship:Nebuchadnezzar

Ship Rank:Captain, as of 23.07.71

RSI Description:Male. African-American. Brown eyes.

Orders:Due to rank as captain, subject is to be taken alive and turned over to Authorities.

Subject is highly skilled in weaponry and hand-to-hand combat. Portrayed to the public as a terrorist; considered to be the most dangerous man alive. Discovered Matrix while searching through files at a government college internship Subject shows significant relationship with First Officer.

Captain.... Captain of what? What exactly did 'ship' mean? Trinity read the words over again. But they were direct, simple. They meant what they meant, whatever it was. But 'Nebuchadnezzar,' she noticed, was a link. She clicked it.

***

__

DATA FILE

Nebuchadnezzar

Sister Ship: Logos

The crews of the Nebuchadnezzar and Logos are composed of the most skilled members of the Resistance. Cue to their exceptional fighting abilities, members of the crew are rarely killed or seriously injured. They have been known to enter the Matrix of their own free will in order to assist fellow resistance fighters. The two ships are responsible for contacting the majority of individuals released. As they are notoriously difficult to capture, they are to be regarded as the most significant threat to the Matrix.

***

Trinity fell back in her seat, running her hands through her hair in shock.

It was common belief among hacker circles that the Matrix was nothing more than a myth, a fabrication created for some unknown reason. Some believe that it was a practical joke made up for laughs. Others thought it was a ploy used to track down and arrest hackers, as many who went looking for it were never heard from again. As for the ones who did believe in it, they had never found a shred of solid proof to back it up.

Even Trinity herself had had doubts as to whether it really existed. She had often wondered what she would do, what would happen if she found out that none of it was real. All those thoughts and possibilities were now wiped from her mind. _She_ had solid proof that it was real. _She_ knew the truth.

And yet, she thought, scrolling further down the page, it was one old question answered, and a thousand new ones asked. She knew that it was real, as was the resistance to it, but beyond that she was in the dark. What did they mean, "enter the Matrix"? What _was_ it? Exactly what were these rebel fighters doing that was such a threat to it?

And speaking of fighters.... Below the ship's profile was Morpheus' file again, and below his were four others.

***

First there was a woman named Niobe. She was the second-in-command, presumably the one mentioned in Morpheus' profile. From the sound of it, she was an incredible athlete, and was skilled with weapons, hand-to-hand combat, and 'acrobatics' whatever they meant by that. She had discovered the Matrix when she heard about what had happened to Morpheus during his internship, which she had, for a short time, held. She had followed his tracks and found him.

Next was a woman named Silver. She was four or five years older than Trinity. She had a knack for swords and combat. She was labeled simply as 'Fighter', and had, apparently attempted a break-in of the IRS D-Base herself. She was listed as having a possible relationship with the next person on the list, Phoenix. He was also labeled as a fighter, and, like the others, was proficient with weapons and straight-forward fighting. They had also listed him as skilled with 'jumps.' Nothing was listed on how either of them discovered the Matrix.

The last on the list was Apoc. Trinity recognized the name from somewhere, but she couldn't place it. He wasn't more than a year older than she was. His most prominent skill seemed to be weaponry, and not as much in hand-to-hand combat, like the others.

_They don't sound like any terrorists I've ever heard of_.

Trinity scrolled back up the page, searching for anything she may have overlooked. Back near the top, she noticed a small note below the ship's name.

__

Most recent activity within the Matrix: Washington D.C.

Trinity stared at this for a brief moment.

"Ten minutes, Sweetie," said the librarian, come to tell her that they were closing.

"I know," she responded curtly. She wasted no time in shutting down the files in the database. Remembering her promise to Switch, she stopped short. She quickly created one more file, and labeled it with her hacker alias. She wrote a single sentence within it:

__

Hacked the IRS D-Base.

She smirked as she finished exiting the computers and recalling the routed phone call. She knew that it wouldn't take them long to figure out something was amiss, once they found the new file. She also knew that she could very possibly be committing suicide if they had any way of connecting her Amelia and Trinity. But it was worth it. She had promised Switch. And besides, she had to leave something for the media to have a field day over.

***

It seemed that, with every big question that you somehow managed to answer, a thousand more were asked. It seemed that, although she now knew that the Matrix was real, she still had no idea what it was.

She stared around the tiny motel room, no more than a bed, TV and desk. She had everything packed in her bag, her motorcycle keys and helmet in her hands.

She didn't know what the Matrix was. But she knew that Morpheus and the others did. Her best hope of finding them, and, ultimately, her answers, was in Washington. So, despite the fact that it would be the early hours of the morning by the time she got there, she checked out and left, ignoring the worried looks and concerned questioning of the man at the check-out lobby.

***

Switch pulled a cereal bowl out of the cupboard. She walked over to the tiny pantry in the equally tiny kitchen of her family's apartment. She pulled out the cereal, and took a spoon from the drawer on the way back.

"Hey!" sang Billy, dancing around her with a quart of milk. "Why have you been so grumpy lately? You're no fun!"

She snatched the milk away from him, leaning down so she could look - or rather glare at - him in the eye. "None of your business. Go eat your breakfast."

"That Evil Eye thing doesn't work on me, ya know," he said smartly. It didn't. It was a look she had learned on her own, completely separate from Amelia's, yet no less intimidating - to most people. Her seven-year-old brother, on the other hand, had grown up with it, and, sadly, had grown immune to it.

"Don't I know it," she retorted. "Go eat."

He stomped off grumpily into the living room. Switch sighed and poured her milk. Trinity had left, what? Four, five days ago? And she had heard nothing. She had been promised word on where she was and what she was doing, how things were going. Her mind barely registered the sound of the TV being turned on in the living room, tuned in to the news. A thousand terrible thoughts and scenarios had plagued her mind. It wasn't like her best friend to simply break a promise -

"And in our top story of the morning, the rules of the virtual world were re-written last night as the impossible was accomplished. According to federal officials, a hacker going by the name Trinity-"

Switch stopped short. She couldn't have... she wouldn't have....

"- has managed to crack the IRS database."

Switch rushed out into the living room, forgetting the cereal waiting to be eaten.

"Although the logs detailing activity within the computers were erased, officials were able to recover the trail of this hacker. We have been told that he has accessed a number of files on various terrorists...."

Not waiting to hear the rest, Switch grabbed her backpack from the back of the breakfast table chair, racing for the door.

"Kelly!" her father called after her. "Kelly, where are you going?"

"School."

"What about your breakfast?"

She slammed the door shut, not answering the question.

***

She fumbled around for several seconds, searching her backpack for keys. She finally fished them out, and slowly inserted them into the doorknob.

"You need to get some ice cream or a Happy Meal or something, Kelly," Billy said, with all the tact of a child. "Then you'll be happy and you won't be all mean like you have been."

"Shut up. I'm just a little worn out studying for finals." She opened the door slowly, quietly, calling herself a liar in her mind. She had nothing to worry for with finals. She aced nearly everything without even trying, so they wouldn't be a problem. The problem was that she now knew _exactly _how suicidal her friend was.

When she had gotten to school, she had found David waiting against her locker. He had been doing that for the past couple of days, wanting just as much as she to find out what had happened to Trinity. She had dragged him into one of the classrooms without a word, and turned the TV to CNN.

David had stated all the obvious things, the same things Switch had told Trinity. It was the most illegal thing you could do with a computer. It wasn't one of the dinky little city rosters, listing all the local residents and their addresses. The kind she had originally hacked to try and find her mother. It was dangerous, and there was no telling what would happen if they figured out the person that went with the alias.

She entered the apartment quietly, her little brother silenced for the time being. She barely made a sound when she closed the door.

"No," she heard faintly from the dining room. "She just said Amelia was busy studying for finals."

It was her mother's voice, and it caused a horrible sickness to settle into her stomach. She didn't know how she knew, but she instantly realized that they had connected her friend to the hacker.

"Billy," she whispered, trying to grab his shoulder and pull him back out the door. "Billy, come on -" but her searching hand touched nothing but air as he ran out into the dining room.

"Mommy, Dad, we're home!" he yelled happily.

Steeling herself, Switch followed. Her shock at seeing three men in black suits and sunglasses was only half-faked. One sat across the table from her mother and father; the other two stood behind him and to either side.

She stared between them for a few moments, as her parents turned around to look at her.

"What's going on?"

"Kelly!" her mother cried frantically, getting up from the chair. "Why didn't you tell us that Amelia ran away?!"

Switch stared her squarely in the eye. "What good would it have done? Her dad and the school were already handling it."

"Miss Miller," said the man at the table. "We would like to speak with you about your friend Miss Harper. Please, sit down." Neither his face or his voice showed any emotion. It wasn't like when Trinity did it - with her, you could always detect a sliver of emotion, if you knew her. This held none.

She let her backpack slide to the floor and moved purposefully to the chair her mother had vacated. Her face almost dared the men to challenge her. She said nothing when she sat.

"Miss Miller -" Switch cut him off.

"Would you please take off your sunglasses?" she asked harshly. "I like looking people in the eye when I talk to them." You couldn't be Trinity's best friend for six years without picking up something on reading people.

He obeyed mechanically, then spoke again. "Miss Miller, I'm sure that you're aware of the immense hack of the IRS database that took place last night. Committed by a hacker named Trinity."

"Difficult to miss." She held him with an unwavering gaze.

"We have reason to believe," he said monotonously, skipping the small-talk, "that Miss Harper and Trinity are one and the same. We were wondering if you knew anything about this."

Switch stared him in the eye for several long moments. "So you think my best friend is a felon?" she finally asked, calmly.

"It's our job to believe that. All of the evidence points to her."

"Does it now?"

"Yes."

"Hmm." She leaned forward, glaring at him slightly. "Well, I can assure you, Amelia had nothing to do with yesterday. She only left because she was almost stabbed and was about to get expelled for acting in self defense. She's no hacker."

"Do not misunderstand us. If you were to confirm this for us, if there is anything you know, you will be granted immunity for your help. No charges would be held against you for anything you might have known in advance. However, should you choose to tell us nothing, and we find out later that you were lying...." He let the implied consequences hang in the air between them.

"I've been her best friend for six years. We knew every detail of the other's life. Believe me, if Amelia were a hacker, I would know. She wouldn't keep something like that from me."

"That's very touching, Miss Miller. However, I must impress upon you the severity of the situation. Your friend was tracked down to a motel in Philadelphia, and at the city library, where the hack was traced. I'm merely trying to tell you that all of the evidence we have points to her."

"And I'm telling _you_," she said, her voice growing ever angrier, her eyes reflecting it, "that you're wrong. Amelia had nothing to do with this."

He was beginning to loose his patience with her. "Miss Miller, I'm going to ask you one more time. You can either tell us the truth and make this easier on everyone, or we can handle this in a way that you will very much regret."

"Really? Those are my options?"

He did not respond.

"Well then, let me tell you your options." Her eyes iced over, but there was a slight smirk on them. "You can either take what I have to say at face value...." The smirk vanished; hatred filled her eyes, and it was directed at the three men in their overly-pressed, pristine suits. "Or you can go to _hell_."

"Kelly!" her father scolded, but she didn't pay him any attention.

"And I'll tell you something else." Her words now carried a lethal edge to them. "Even if Amelia _was_ Trinity, and even if I _did_ know about it, I sure as hell would never tell you."

"Miss Miller -"

"I think it's time for you to leave now," said her mother, stopping the war of words in it's tracks. She moved toward the table as her husband stood up, showing that he agreed with her.

The three men stood and went towards the door silently, followed by Switch's parents. She herself stayed where she was, her thoughts racing a million miles an hour.

"We're very sorry to have disturbed you, Mr. and Mrs. Miller."

***

Hmmm.... Little bit of a _Memento_ moment there. Oh well. The next chapter will be Trinity unplugged! I think you'll find it quite interesting.

R+R!! :)


	7. A Choice

Happy, Ryven? Here's your beloved new chapter. And you had better appreciate it, because it is _long_. ; )

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Seven

A Choice

***

It was foreign to her, to her nature. There was not a time in recent or extended memory where she had not though a serious situation through before acting upon it. She always looked her options over from every angle. She knew all the possible reprocussions and side effects of her choices. She always made sure to know exactly what would happen. From there, it was just a matter of what was the best decision to make.

And yet despite so many years of planning in her instincts, here she was, sitting on her bike, parked against a curb by the Washington Monument. She watched the various tourists as she sat, waiting. It was about as much as she had done in the past few days. In truth, she really didn't know what _to_ do. She had come here only on the small fact from the IRS D-Base, and it was starting to seem like a very foolish thing to do. After three days, no new information had appeared on Morpheus' whereabouts.

Trinity got up from her bike, leaving her helmet on the seat. Folding her arms over her chest, she slowly made her way over to the reflecting pool.

It was stupid, really. It had said _most recent activity_. That was no guarantee that they were still here. It was highly probable that they had moved on to another city by now. They might not crop up again for months. And if that were the case, she would surely be caught by then.

When she reached the pool, Trinity moved to stand at the very edge, and stared down at her reflection. She was still for a long moment. Finally she let sighed, angry at herself. How could she be so stupid? She had come here with no plan, no idea what she was supposed to do. She didn't know if the authorities had caught on to her, and if they had, she didn't know how long it would be before they found her.

"Damnit, Trinity," she whispered to herself. "You couldn't have picked a worse time."

She mentally berated herself for a few moments more, until she suddenly realized how hungry she was. Checking her watch, she realized that it was nearly three in the afternoon, and she had not eaten since early that morning. She sighed again and headed back to her motorcycle.

***

She sat inside a little diner on the corner of the street. She tapped her fingers on the nearly empty glass. Staring down at it, she strangely thought of how they didn't serve sodas at the cafe that, until recently, she used to work at.

She could have stayed. She could have chosen to stay in New York, and let things go back to normal, as they eventually would. But she was who she was. And she was a woman who relied on her instincts and intuition, often more so than she relied on logic. Her instincts had driven her to leave. To hack what was easily one of the most secured computer systems in the world. And, even more irrational, she ran off to Washington D.C., hoping to find a group of computer terrorists that probably weren't even there anymore.

Much of the last half-hour in the restaurant had been spent wondering. Thinking of what might have happened if she _had_ chosen to just stay in New York. Sure, she would have been expelled, and her father would have raised hell. But that all would have died down in the end. She would have finished junior year at the local high school. She'd still see Switch almost every day. They would still talk, go out for coffee. Joy ride around Manhattan on Friday nights. A new Internet cafe had opened up near Central Park a few months before. It had quickly become a common hacker hangout. It would be a good place for the two of them to go. And surely some of the people there would know of a number of other....

Trinity sat straight up in her seat, her mind racing with thoughts. Why hadn't she thought of it before? It was so obvious, so simple. Of course, there was no guarantee that it would work, but she had no other options. And if she _was_ going to be caught, she wasn't about to go down without at least trying.

She hastily stood from the table, fished a ten out of her pocket, and carelessly tossed it onto the table on her way out.

***

It did not take more than twenty minutes of driving to find a good place to start. A little hole-in-the-wall computer repair shop. Two or three college boys, maybe nineteen or twenty, were working there when she found it. It wasn't at all hard to see that they were hackers - they obviously knew their way around a computer, and they looked as if much of their free time was spent in cyberspace.

She tried to look as casual as she could when she walked in. Switch, had she been there, would have told her to get the boys' attention. Get them to notice her, and be attracted to her, so as to get them to eat right out of the palm of her hand. It wasn't that it was a difficult task, it simply sickened her. Rich, pretentious high school boys gawking at her was bad enough. But your typical computer geek, who spent so much time on-line that any girl he may attract would be driven away immediately? This would not be fun.

She walked slowly when she came in, looking around as she made her way to the counter in the back. She saw him look up out of the corner of her eye. She forced a small, friendly grin.

"Hi," he said quickly, standing up straighter and smiling back.

"Hey."

"Um," he stammered slightly, presumably a bit nervous, "can I help you with something?"

"Maybe," Trinity replied quietly, toying with a pen on the counter. "Either you or one of your friends." She nodded to the other two, one behind the counter, one at a shelf, putting something away. Both came closer as she mentioned them.

There was a silence as they waited for her to ask her question.

"I was hoping one of you could tell me where I might find a club...." The words came out slow and quiet.

"Uh...." This was not the kind of request they usually got. "Sure. Which one?"

"I thought you might know." Trinity put the pen down and looked up at the one who had spoken. "Hacker clubs. Know of any?"

The tension in the air rose almost instantly. The three of them looked between each other nervously.

"Well, um...." He glanced quickly at the other two. "No. Not really, no."

Trinity looked their faces over carefully. They weren't just nervous. They were lying. They knew of plenty of hacker clubs, but for some reason, they weren't saying anything. She decided not to press them.

"All right." She looked them each squarely in the eye. "Thank you anyway."

***

"We have to get her out soon." Morpheus' face was serious, and his tone grave."Are you sure?" Tank asked hesitantly, pulling up the map on one of the screens. "I mean, what if you run into agents trying to get her out? She's only been there three days, and she's nearly run into them about a dozen times."

"Exactly." Quickly scanning the map, Niobe pointed to a grid square in the corner. "Zoom in here. If we don't get to her soon, they will. She's too good to risk." 

"All right...." Tank typed in various commands on the double keyboards before the screens. "You're the bosses. You're both insane, but I trust you."

Niobe looked at him out of the corner of her eye, sarcasm written all over her face. "Thank you so -"

She was cut off by a loud, blaring siren, and the screens flashed with "_PROXIMITY WARNING_."

"Damn it." The captain and ranking officer rushed from the core and to the ladder leading to the cockpit.

***

Her plan had been simple enough. Search out a net cafe or computer store that employed hackers, and ask them where she might find some hacker clubs. It was an unlikely prospect, but she might just find Morpheus or one of the others there. It should have worked. It would have, were it not for the tiny flaw created by some unknown force.

No one would tell her anything.

Despite the fact that hackers were often rather open with other hackers, of the two or three dozen people she'd asked none had mentioned any clubs. All had claimed not to know of any, or to not be hackers at all. She couldn't pinpoint why, but she had a guess.

She had been all over the news recently. Trinity was now a very well known name. And from the sound of it, there was a massive attempt to find this most elusive criminal. It may simply have been that no one wanted to admit any relation to hackers, for fear of being arrested themselves. After all, if there was one thing hackers knew how to do, it was hide. A skill they all seemed to be employing recently.

***

Moving slowly, carefully watching the endless tunnels out the cockpit window, Morpheus switched on the holographic scanner. A miniature, electric blue replica of the sewer systems surrounding the Nebuchadnezzar appeared in the air.

The small group that had gathered before it studied it carefully.

"They aren't leaving," Niobe stated quietly after a long minute. There were perhaps seven or eight sentinels in the immediate area. The ship itself was carefully hidden in a dead-end tunnel. As they were, they were safe, but the machines stayed relatively where they were. They could not leave their position, as they would surely be spotted. Nor could they return power to the ship, as the electricity would be picked up by the sentinels' radar.

"We can't do anything until they're out of range," Dozer said quietly, more to himself than anyone else. "Looks like we're stuck here for a while."

Niobe wrung her hands silently. She voiced none of the concern that showed on her face, save for a small, worried sigh.

"We'll be fine," Morpheus said calmly, not even looking over to her.

"It's not us I'm worried about."

He turned slightly to face her, waiting for her to continue. She looked him straight in the eye. "She's got agents after her. She's only barely avoided them so far, and by even less each time." Her eyes held an intent gaze on him for a moment before she closed them and turned away. "We could be stuck here for hours. Do I have to tell you what can happen to someone in only a few hours when agents are after them?"

"Nothing's going to happen to her, Niobe. She'll be fine."

However, in glancing over at him, she could tell that that was not the case. He was afraid of the same thing.

***

The sun was setting. She had been riding around this massive city for hours, to no avail. Although she was one to never give up, she felt like doing so now. She had not asked much, simply for the location of one of any number of clubs, which many of the people she had asked certainly knew about. But it had gotten her nowhere, and she had wasted so much effort on nothing.

Trinity stopped with the various other cars at the red light, eyes taking in the surrounding shops. Not far up the street, she saw a net cafe, not much different than the many others she had seen that day.

She fought with herself mentally for several seconds. She was sick and tired of getting nothing but lies and nervous looks. She didn't want to go through that again. But, would it kill her so much to try one more time? And, even if she didn't get any information out of it, she could at least get some coffee.

***

Apoc remained against the back wall of the cockpit, where he had been for several minutes, watching the holographic images of the sewers that were pulled up. The sentinels had remained where they were for quite some time now, and the crew had been waiting for further notice before they did anything.

From the looks of it, it might be coming any moment. Morpheus was hastily adjusting the viewing field of the holograms, looking at everything around them. He followed the path of a particular tunnel, searching out all of its bends and turns and branches for nearly a mile. The routs he traced were clear.

"Apoc," he said quietly, a controlled urgency in his voice. "Go down and tell them not to return power to any of the systems until we say so."

He did not hesitate in obeying the order. He nearly jumped down the ladder, hearing switches being flipped and the engines humming to life.

Quickly checking the images once more, the ship was lifted from the ground, moving quietly from its hiding place so as not to attract any attention. They moved as quickly as possible towards the channel not far ahead, miraculously avoiding the machines' radar. Simply for the reason of safety, they waited until they were _well_ out of range before giving the order.

"Tank," Morpheus said curtly into the intercom, "I want everything up and running yesterday."

***

The interior of the cafe was very well done. Everything in the huge room was brand new. New, and very fancy-looking computer stations, chrome-backed swivel chairs, and all of the computer systems were the best money could buy. It was after seven, and it seemed that everyone was just beginning to trickle in after work.

Trinity made her way up to the counter, purposely exuding a sense of calm and causality. That she could see, there were three waitresses serving things to customers at the computer stations, and another two at the counter. They were talking with two of their friends sitting at barstools. All of them seemed normal enough - jeans, regular t-shirts. One was even wearing a sports jacket, presumably from his school. They didn't seem like hackers at first glance - but then again, neither did she. So that was yet to be determined.

She came up and leaned against the counter, a few seats away from them. Removing the bag from her shoulder, she placed it on the counter and sat down, waiting to be noticed. After several seconds she became impatient, and interrupted their conversation.

"The general purpose," she said loudly, stopping one of them in mid-sentence, "of a business is to make money, something which generally cannot happen if the people working for the business don't serve the customers."

One of them glowered at her slightly, and came over to her. "Fine. What would you like?" he asked with mock-politeness.

"Just give me some coffee and I'm happy." She held his gaze for a moment before letting him fix her order.

"As I was saying before I was so _rudely_ interrupted...." The one in the football jacket resumed the conversation. The one who had taken her order - Kevin, judging by the nametag - joined them after bringing Trinity her drink.

She remained quiet for a time, listening to their conversation, while pretending to be interested in nothing other than her coffee.

".... but I was talking to the Prodigy on a chatroom the other day, and...."

A chatroom. Who other than a hacker used one of those? Prodigy. Very well known among the circles. She herself had spoken with him a few times.

She interrupted again. "I'm impressed." She placed the cup back on the counter, staring down at it. "Other than myself, I've never met a hacker who could make decent coffee."

"Excuse me?" Kevin asked her impatiently.

"And I've met a lot of them recently," she mused.

They stared at her, some more angry than annoyed. The jock was the next to speak. "Did you want something? And who the hell are you?"

"Must be tough." She stared ahead, taking another sip. "Living in a world where everyone's name isn't stitched on their jacket." She turned to look at him, reading the cursive lettering. She smirked at him when she looked him in the eye. "Jack."

She read the other waiter's nametag. "Danny. And you are?" she asked the final one.

"That's Mike," Jack said impatiently. "Now I ask again: who the hell are you, and what do you want?"

"Not much. I just want to know how to get to one of the hacker clubs in the area. Nothing more." Her eyes traveled amongst them calmly as she spoke.

"No, see," Danny said mockingly. "Hacker _clubs_ are for _hackers_. Why would you want to know where one is?"

"What? You've never met a female hacker?" she challenged, moving a few seats over, to keep the conversation away from prying ears.

"No," he quipped. "Certainly not a one who could ever _dream_ of playing in the big leagues with the boys." The four shared cocky grins.

Trinity merely took a minute to regain her composure, and remind herself that they were among the less intelligent of their half of the species - they knew nothing.

***

"Kick his ass," Silver mumbled. They stood before the consoles, listening to the conversation that was being translated from the coding.

"So what exactly is the plan?" Phoenix inquired, ignoring his girlfriend's angered remarks.

"If they ever tell her anything," Morpheus began, slowly, "we meet her at the club and convince her to come with us. Then we unplug her."

But they weren't telling her anything. That was the only flaw in the reasoning. Tank made that very point.

"How do you expect to get her to a club if they won't even tell her the _name_ of one?"

There was silence for a moment, save for the quiet voices coming from the console speakers. They all studied the code, looking for anything that could help them.

Niobe was the first to notice, and quickly formulated a plan. On the back counter, screen facing the barstools where Trinity sat, was a computer, used for writing up checks.

"Apoc," she turned around, still formulating her idea. "You were from Washington D.C., right?"

***

"Some of the better hackers I know are female, actually."

The four had quickly taken to counter-attacking everything Trinity said. She was becoming very angry, very fast.

"Isn't it something like eighty-five percent of women online are men?" Danny asked sarcastically. "And given how many 'women' you actually do find online...."

Trinity's mind slid away from their words as she saw the computer screen on the opposite counter go black. Odd - computers rarely did that when they weren't being used, when there was no one triggering anything that could cause a problem. But she didn't let the thought show on her face. Nor did she let her complete shock at what happened next show.

__

We're very impressed with your work, Trinity.

The screen went black again, and she glanced around, both at the boys and the other customers. No one had noticed anything. Turning her attention nonchalantly back to the screen, more word typed across.

__

We have a proposition for you.

Black. Her heart was beating faster and faster, adrenaline and excitement beginning to course through her. It had worked. It had actually _worked_. She had hoped that by some miracle Morpheus and the others would be interested in meeting her, and somehow find out who she was. She quelled her thoughts as another message appeared.

__

We'll meet you at Club Infinity. They'll tell you where it is.

"... I'll admit that a girl could probably do some really _minor_ hacking," Jack said haughtily, "but there's no way they could get into anything that was at all important. And besides, don't you have something better that you could be doing than going to a club?" He paused for a dramatic effect. "I don't know, like, baking cookies of something?"

The four of them laughed loudly.

"So in short, you're not going to tell me anything? Is that it?" She took another sip of her coffee, asking the question calmly.

"No, not really," Kevin replied, smirking. "No."

Trinity simply spun on the stool, so that she was facing the main floor, with the computers and other customers. She sat with her elbows resting on the counter behind her, eyes seeming to wander around aimlessly. You would never have guessed that she was searching to see if the person who had sent the message was here, in the cafe.

"So then you wouldn't be able to tell me how to find Club Infinity," she said in the most nonchalant tone she could muster. At their silence, she turned around to see four gaping mouths. She smirked wickedly at the sight. "I'll take that as a yes."

Kevin was the first to shake himself out of his trance. "If you already knew which club you wanted to go to, why didn't you just ask for directions when you came in?"

"Because then I wouldn't be able to screw around with your heads," she lied, casually taking another sip of coffee. "So would you be a dear, and make me a map?" she asked, sarcastic when she called him a dear. "Something small, that I could read while riding a bike."

"Oh, look, Little Miss Hacker has a bike!" Jack said sarcastically, while Kevin reluctantly drew out a map on a small piece of paper. "Let me guess. Pink seat, pink handlebars with pink streamers coming out of the ends? Right?"

She silenced their hysterical laughter, hitting them with a full on death glare. The three of them shrunk back.

"Two things. First, do I look like I have ever owned anything that was pink in my entire life?"

They shook their heads hesitantly.

"Correct. And two, I have three words for you."

She released her glare on them, and they all loosened up considerably. She fished a five-dollar bill from her pocket and exchanged it with the small map Kevin gave her.

"Triumph. Speed. Triple."

None of them dared challenge her on that fact. She gave them each a meaningful look before standing up from the counter and making her way towards the exit.

***

A club this high-tech could only be run by hackers. The thought processes and touch of one were everywhere, even before you got inside the place.

It was an underground club, with an entrance that was nearly impossible to find if you didn't know where to look. It was nothing more than a simple stairwell leading down, _Infinity_ written in white, cursive neon lettering above it. Furthermore, it was hidden at the very back of a small parking lot between two larger buildings. Surprisingly, though, there were a number of people lined up to get in, with two bouncers controlling who went in when.

Seeing the many people waiting outside, she found herself somewhat grateful for the things she had taught herself to do as a child. This was one of those times when knowing how to walk right past someone and remain virtually unnoticed could come in quite handy. Parking her motorcycle at the far side of the parking lot, she stayed a few paces behind a small group that was also going in. She separated from them when they went to join the line that had formed. A low metal railing lined either side of the doorway that led to the stairs. Slipping under it, she managed to press herself against the wall going down the stairs. Everyone else was so busy talking that they didn't even notice as she slipped down into the club.

When she made it all the way downstairs, she could only think that they didn't have clubs like this back in New York, at least none of the ones she had ever seen. There were two levels to it. The first was nothing more than a perimeter floor, running around the sides of the square room. There was a bar on the far end, with chairs and tables circling the edges of the railing. The center of the top level was non-existent, and instead opened up to the dance floor below. Two staircases on either side led down.

The lights were a key giveaway to a hacker club. There were neon strands in various colors lining the edges between walls, along the ceiling and the floor. The dance floor was some clear material that revealed a grid of ever-changing lights beneath it. There were black lights, pale, regular lights, flashing strobe lights and moving lights in every color imaginable.

This was definitely a club designed by a computer whiz - your Average Joe couldn't pull this off.

***

Trinity leaned against the back wall of the lower level, letting herself fade away from wandering eyes. She had been there about twenty minutes, and had spent that time carefully searching every face for one she recognized. She had begun to worry not long ago. There was not a doubt in her mind that they would come. They said they would. They had a "proposition" for her, whatever that meant. But she had begun to wonder how they would find her.

Did they even know what she looked like? How would they? The authorities were not saying whether or not they knew who Trinity was, and had not shown any pictures on the news. The only other people who knew her identity were David and Switch, and unless they had been consulted, no one else knew anything. But... they would have had to, in order to send her the message in the cafe. But that still didn't explain how -

"That was a nice stunt you pulled."

Trinity's head whipped to the right at the voice, and she instantly stood up straighter. Standing not more than five feet away was a man and a woman, both of whom she recognized. Phoenix and Silver. She looked them over for several seconds. They both fit right in at the club. She wore a pair of black leather pants, and a silver shirt under a long black coat. He wore a black motorcycle jacket, and plain black jeans.

Silver spoke again. "We were very eager to meet you."

Trinity remained silent for a moment, then said, in a voice that could barely be heard above the music: "Same here."

She smiled at her.

Trinity moved away from the wall, and began speaking, unusually hesitant. "Why did you want to meet me? And what did you mean by _proposition_?"

"Well," Phoenix began, trying to explain with minimal information. "We're aware that you've landed yourself in somewhat of a bind, and we're here to help you out of it."

"Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"Because you're talented, Trinity. More than you know. And, with our help, we think you could become much better."

"You want me to help you with something." It was a statement, not a question.

"Getting right to the point," Phoenix mused. "You _are _good at reading people."

She gave him an intent look, urging him to continue.

"We don't just want you to help us." Silver's voice lowered, and became more serious. "We're...." She struggled to find the right words. "We're helping the greater good, and we thought that you might be interested in the same thing."

"Our definitions of the 'Greater Good' may be different," she said gravely, looking between them.

"Only one way to find out, isn't there?"

***

A black sedan was waiting in a back alley behind the club. Leaning against the driver's door was a young man, tossing the keys up into the air and catching them. As the Trinity came closer, following Phoenix and Silver, she saw that she recognized him as well - Apoc.

He stopped fiddling with the keys and got in when they came over, starting up the engine. Trinity silently sat in the back seat beside Silver. Somehow, she had managed to expertly hide her tension and nervousness thus far. But, as they drove, it slowly increased until some of it crept onto her face.

"Nothin' to worry about, kid," Silver said reassuringly.

***

They finally reached their destination. It was an abandoned building, four or five stories high - she couldn't quite tell in the dark. Silver left the car when they came to a stop, and beckoned her to follow.

Everything seemed to pass in a blur. Time seemed to slow down and speed up at the same time, until she found herself before a door, made of old, faded wood with peeling paint. Brass numbers still hung on it - 415.

"Hey," she said quietly. Trinity looked up. "I told you, there's nothing to worry about."

Silver opened the door before she could say anything. Walking in, she saw a man standing before the fireplace, his back to the door. He turned to face them as they came in, and Trinity's mind came back to her in a rush, suddenly able to form coherent thoughts again. She would recognize this man anywhere.

Morpheus.

He nodded in thanks to Silver, who quietly slipped into the next room.

"I'm glad you decide to come, Trinity," he said kindly, reassurance in his voice. "Sit down." He gestured to two red-leather seats before the fire, and sat in one of them himself. After a moment, she did the same.

He remained silent, as if waiting for her to say what he knew she wanted to get out.

"I've really wanted to meet you. I've been looking for you for a long time."

He smiled behind mirrored glasses. "You've been looking for answers, Trinity, nothing more."

He knew every question she had, she could tell in his voice. But she could also see that the answers to some of them might not be so easy to learn. A thought nagged at the back of her mind, something that had been confusing her for a very long time. She knew that this wasn't the right time, and that there wasn't a polite or appropriate way to say it, but she had to know.

"Why is it that so many people die every time you show up?" She looked up at him slightly, waiting for a response.

He was still for several seconds, seemingly thinking over his answer. "You won't understand the answer to that right now. But we are in the middle of a war, Trinity. And unfortunately, because of the nature of that war, innocent people die."

A _war_. Wonderful. He was a conspiracy theorist who was convinced that the government was doing some terrible thing, and he was using acts of terrorism to try to make them stop. But... in watching him closely, she saw none of the usual signs that he was lying, or that he maintained the level of insanity necessary to believe that.

_God, he's serious_.

It made no sense. How could there be a war going on, of such a nature, that no one knew about? What was being fought over, or for? And why would it cause people to die?

Quelling her unruly thoughts, Trinity regained her composure and spoke again, albeit in a hushed voice. "They said you wanted my help."

"We need all the help we can get," he said calmly. "But yes, we did have an eye on you in particular. We think you'd make a very good addition."

She stared at her reflections in the lenses of his glasses. There was a long moment of silence, a thousand thoughts hanging unsaid in the air.

"I can give you answers Trinity." He spoke slowly, making sure she heard every word. "To all of your questions."

"About the Matrix...?" It was a question that was rational enough. Every time the name Morpheus came up, so did the Matrix.

"That...." He smiled slightly, the way you would smile at a naive child. "And the feeling that you've had your entire life."

Trinity sat back in her seat, barely breathing, and shock written all over her face. He knew. She couldn't even begin to guess how, but he knew. He had somehow discovered the tiny, never-ending thought... or _feeling_, rather, that constantly plagued her mind.

It took her several very long seconds to come back to her senses, and will herself to form words. "You know about that?"

"Yes." She could detect a slight enthusiasm in his voice. "As a matter of fact, both of those questions can be answered in the same way."

She stared at him, waiting for him to continue. Finally he sighed heavily, and leaned back in his seat. He reached into his pocket, and she could see him pull out something thin and silver. "Few people feel as you do, Trinity," he said gravely. "Even fewer act upon that feeling. We were simply lucky that you were one of those few."

He opened the small metal case, and poured something from it into his hand, holding it clenched in a fist. He then placed the closed case on a small table, next to a glass of water that she had only just noticed.

"You have always known that there is something wrong with the world, Trinity, and you have always wanted to make it better." Whatever he was holding, he had two of them. He put one into the other hand, and leaned forward in his chair. "I can give you the chance to do just that, but you must know that once the choice to do so is made, you can never go back. No matter how much you may hate the answers, you can never close your eyes to the truth."

She nodded in understanding, slightly dazed. He opened up his left hand, revealing a small, dark blue pill.

"You take the blue pill, and your life goes back to the way it was before you knew anything about this. You will be able to lead a normal life."

She glanced at him briefly. Perhaps he wasn't quite so sane as she thought. He opened his right hand, which instead held a blood-red pill.

"But if you take the _red_ pill, you will find the answers you are looking for."

Trinity stared between the two pills, mind working at lightning speed to weigh her options. She didn't like his implications. What he said made the 'truth' sound like the most horrible thing in the world. Maybe it really was. She wasn't sure about how much she would _want_ to know the truth if it was that horrible. And she could never go back. But she couldn't go back. She had done too much. Too many things had happened, and none of it could ever be erased, no matter what that blue pill did. And she had worked so hard... she had come so far, looked for this truth for so long. Didn't she owe it to herself to find out what it was, however awful it may be? To find out what the Matrix was, and, more importantly, what was wrong with the world?

Yes. Yes, she did.

She reached for the red pill, and swallowed it without water.

***

AGHH! I'm finally done! **Dies of exhaustion** This is probably the longest chapter I've done so far. Anyway, gotta go watch The Matrix: Revisited now. : )

R+R! : )


	8. Truth

I really do apologize for the wait. I've been swamped with homework lately, and I'm moving in a week, so.... I've been pressed for time.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Eight

Truth

***

"_A major update today, regarding the elusive hacker Trinity_..."

Switch's attention was suddenly focused fully on the news anchor's voice, although it seemed like she had not even heard over the clatter of plates being set out for Saturday breakfast.

"Not that again," her father muttered, bringing the paper in from the hallway. "Can't they just leave it alone? He didn't delete or tamper with anything, why can't they just let it go?" He asked these questions mostly to himself, walking into the kitchen. He barely missed his daughter's head snapping up when the announcer spoke again.

"_Authorities have reason to believe that Trinity has been kidnapped by a terrorist organization led by a man named Morpheus_...."

"I just can't believe that they thought it was _Amelia_," her mother sighed, finishing up the eggs in the kitchen. Switch didn't even register it. She had abandoned setting up the table and moved closer to the TV. "I mean, it's just ridiculous for anyone to think that she would be capable of something like that, it just isn't like her."

"_No comment is being made as to how this information was obtained, but it is being said that the kidnap occurred last night in Washington D.C., possibly near the hacker club, _Infinity...."

She slowly sank down to the floor, leaning against the arm of the couch. She shut her eyes tightly against the wave of worry and anger that came over her. She knew it. She had known it all along, but had ignored the simple truth that was staring her in the face. Ever since the day that Trinity had revealed the possibility that her precious answers might be found in the IRS D-Base, Switch had been telling herself that she would get hurt. Something was bound to happen with a hack as risky as this, and now it had.

"It was so rude of them to just come in here and accuse her like that. And she's not stupid enough to do something like that, anyway."

Switch leaned forward, elbows on the coffee table and head in her hands. "That's what I thought."

***

Little bits and pieces... fragments of memories from.... She didn't know how long ago. A red pill... machines and computers and wires... all hooked up in some sort of chaotic order.... They had made her sit down, she remembered that. Put little wires on her neck and temple... something about a program... disrupting carrier signals, finding out where she was.

Everything had blinking lights... looked like something out of an early - _very_ early - twentieth-century sci-fi movie. At first glance, none of it seemed like it would work... she vaguely recalled thinking it was all some cruel joke for a moment...

"Do we have a signal yet?"

...but then it started to get cold... and her head hurt.... And then all she remembered was darkness, leaving her body and returning to it at the same time.

She was floating... suspended in some kind of thick, red liquid. It had been difficult to sit up... a lining at the surface. Towers... high towers.... Black... glowing red pods, spaced regularly. That was the first thing she could remember. _There had been people inside them_.... There were people in the pods beside her... cables, there had been lots of them... attached to everything. Arms, legs, chest, stomach.

Flying... something flying in front of her.... Some kind of machine... all metal... and a light, nearly blinding, making her squint. Something had grabbed her around the neck... that machine? Then pain... unbelievable pain, in the back of her neck... something was pulled out... it sent a wave of ice through her, whatever it was.

Her neck was released... she fell.... More pain, cables flying away from her... arms, chest... all down her spine, pricks of pain as each was pulled away....

It drained... the liquid in the pod... it drained out the back, and she was pulled along with it. She fell down a long tube... turning, twisting, never the same way twice.... The water or whatever it was became colder, the longer she fell. Then it ended.... The tunnel, not the fall... she landed in ice cold water.... She had thought she would drown, that fear stood out in her memory. But there had been... lights, from above her... some sort of cable, crane... something had pulled her up.

She had been able to look around, just barely. They had all been there, Niobe, Apoc... a few others she didn't recognize.

"Welcome..." Morpheus, he was there, "... to the real world."

She had blacked out then, at least she thought she had.

***

"No one's ever made the first jump before, why should she?" Sliver.

"Morpheus thinks she's the One." Someone she didn't recognize, but he sounded like he was about her age. "And she's managed to do some pretty impressive stuff, without training...."

"She's not gonna make it, Tank. No one ever has." She would have opened her eyes, but opening them even a sliver let in a blinding white light above her. It didn't really matter, she had slipped back into unconsciousness only seconds later.

***

".... she might beat him...." Tiny little pricks, like a thousand needles in her skin. It didn't hurt, not really, but it felt... strange.

"First fight?"

"She already knows how to fight, she's got the technique down." It felt almost as if the needles were pulsing with electricity. More soothing than painful, really, strange as it felt.

"She's good, I'll admit that. But Morpheus is a tough one to beat."

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see _how _good she is."

Were they talking about her? Fighting... why would they want her to fight Morpheus? With the way she felt, she wasn't even sure if she _could_. She couldn't move anything. Her body wouldn't respond to her commands, try as she might to make them.

.... atrophied muscles.... One of them had said something about that, but she couldn't remember when. But how was that possible? It seemed like only yesterday she was up, walking, riding her motorcycle....

God, what had happened?

***

Trinity woke, again. Her senses took a minute to fully surface. She was lying in what she assumed to be a bed. It wasn't the softest she had ever been in, but it was better than the cold, hard metal slab she had been on earlier. And she wasn't cold anymore - she had remembered there being a draft before, and it was cold. Her skin had been bare, for some reason.

Her mind took much longer to become functional than the rest of her senses.

She sat bolt upright in the bed when it did, head whipping around to take in her surroundings. Tiny room, rusty, metal walls, like a military ship. It had been dark - there was only a single fluorescent light in the corner. She reached around for a light switch, and finally found one on the wall beside her.

It seemed even smaller in the light.

Fear. There was some residual fear from somewhere in her recent memory, but her mind was to jumbled to determine where it came from. It had been awful not long ago - at least, she didn't think it was that long ago.... But it had been slowly ebbing away over what little time of consciousness she had had recently. She took several deep breaths to calm down, telling herself that she was in no danger here. Wherever "here" was, anyway.

The sheets, she noticed in looking around, were thin, white with faded blue stripes. The white was dark, quite obviously being relatively old. She herself was covered in dark, thin sweaters that had enough holes in them to suggest they had been around longer than the bed sheets. She noticed that her left sleeve was pushed up around her elbow.

She froze.

The IV in her arm wasn't what surprised her. Feeling as she did, that was the least of what she had expected to find. Although it had taken her a moment to realize, it wasn't your average needle in the arm. Trinity sat there, staring down at the metal... plug, you might say, that had been put into her arm, and now held a needle locked in place. She moved her arm closer to her already sore eyes, taking a closer look as she carefully pulled it out. It was cold, pulling it out. The metal scraping on metal made her whole arm feel a chill.

Wait.... Cold... plugs.... A rush of memorized came flooding at her - the pill, the towers, the machine.... She remembered that there had been a cable attached to her arm here, and it had hurt when they were pulled out. Hurt like hell, just like all the others.

Without a thought, her hand moved to her stomach, where she could almost feel her ribs through the thin sweaters. That, and two more round, metallic plugs. Another two lower down, one on each side of her chest. Each arm, a few inches down from her shoulders. One on each side of her lower back, and the backs of her shoulders. She followed the long line up her back, slowly, tracing around each individual circle. She didn't know how long she spent at the plug in her neck. How long she spent tracing over every line and groove.

Eventually she forced herself to take her hand away from it, wringing them both together in her lap.

After a moment, she managed to pull herself together. Checking the tiny room, she found more clothes in the two drawers underneath the bed. Oddly, she noted how clean and polished the brass knobs seemed in comparison with everything else. She pulled on a few more of the ridiculously thin sweaters, and tied an extra, luckily thicker, scrap of fabric around her bare head. There were boots on the floor, which she quickly slipped on and tied.

Time to get some answers.

***

Quiet. Eerily so.

Trinity could only assume that it was the middle of the night, and everyone was asleep. But there weren't any windows or clocks anywhere, so she really had no way of knowing. The hallway was lined on both sides with a few doors, all identical, all looking like something from a submarine.

She made as little noise as possible when she walked down the short corridor, not wanting to wake anyone that may be sleeping behind those doors. It was harder than she would have imagined, being noiseless in combat boots, on metal. But it didn't take her long to figure out.

Around the corner and up a ladder she found a room filled every piece of technical equipment you could imagine. Countless bundles of red and blue wires on the ceiling, easily over a hundred computer screens. The whole thing seemed to be coming apart at the seams, but at the same time felt like it would last a thousand years. Someone was out there, sitting in a chair before about a dozen monitors, and a circle of what looked like old dentist chairs.

A plaque on a wall near her caught her eye before she could go any further.

__

Nebuchadnezzar

It clicked in her mind, and she took in every detail for several seconds, excited to finally see what it was. Ship: Nebuchadnezzar, that's what the file had said. So _this_ was what they had meant by ship.

__

Year 2069

She stared at this for a while before moving off. If nothing else, it confirmed one thing: it wasn't 1988.

Trinity continued her silent creep, moving up behind the person in the chair. She managed to move only feet behind him without being noticed, and it remained unnaturally quiet. The three screens in the center of the monitor bank were the only ones on. They were displaying some sort of intricate, flowing code. The symbols looked like green kanji, placed against a black background. But the way they moved reminded her of rain. The way it rolled down a window in streaks, the beginning of the drop the clearest, but the streak it leaves is still perfectly visible.

It was hypnotic, really. So easy to stare at it and be mesmerized....

But, out of the corner of her eye, she still saw the young man in the chair turn to the left, just a bit, but it was enough to put her in his line of sight. He jumped at seeing her, and took a few stabilizing breaths when he got over the initial shock.

"You _really_ can't do that to people around here, okay?" She recognized his voice. What had he been called? Tank? "That's rule number one."

Trinity paid little attention to him. She only stared at him blankly, then turned back to the screens.

***

He held back for a moment, waiting at the edge of the core. He watched the pair for a moment, waiting to see the new recruit's reaction. When she merely turned back to the screens silently, he walked out slowly towards the operator's station.

***

Trinity was silent for several long moments, but she finally spoke up.

"What is that?" she whispered, still watching the code.

"_That_ -" Both she and Tank turned to see Morpheus joining them "- is the Matrix."

"_That_?" she asked incredulously. That was the Matrix? She had spent the better part of a year searching for the ever-illusive answer to that common hacker question, and this was what she had to show for it? So much work, and this was what she got? "That's the Matrix?"

Morpheus nodded.

"Just a bunch of... green symbols?"

"It's a lot more than that." Trinity turned to examine his face. It was solemn, a slight tinge of worry in his eyes. Worry for what? "Tank," he said authoritatively, "load the programs."

"Now?" He looked confused. She might have laughed if it weren't for the situation. "It's the middle of the night."

"I know, load them," he repeated. "Come with me. I'll explain everything." That was directed at her. He put his hand on Trinity's shoulder reassuringly, guiding her over to the circle of dentists chairs. She looked them over more carefully, and noticed that each one was connected to it's own set of monitors and machinery. The screens of the two closest to them blinked to life, and Morpheus punched in a number of commands on the touch-screens.

She jumped a bit when the chair moved on it's own, moving down from where it was to be more easily accessible to sit in. "Sit down." She did so reluctantly, wondering why he would possibly need her to sit here to explain it. He shut clamps over both boots, keeping her feet firmly in place.

"What are you doing?" she asked as he pushed her head back down to the seat.

"You'll see in a minute." He rustled the machinery behind the chair a bit, but she couldn't tell what he was doing. "This'll feel a bit strange...."

Strange. That was the word he used. Painful as hell frozen over would have fit much better.

***

It ceased as quickly as it had begun, and Trinity's eyes snapped open to a vast white expanse. She spun around several times, looking for something, anything. But it was nothing but endless white.

_Load the programs_. That was exactly what he had said. And he had put something into the back of her head.... Her mouth hung open slightly as everything slid into place.

"I'm inside a computer program," she muttered, in complete shock and disbelief.

"Yes." Morpheus was there when she whipped her head around. Him, and two chairs and an old television set. She brought her hand up to brush away a lock of hair that had fallen into her face, not registering that, a moment ago, it hadn't been there. She didn't notice her clothes either. "Incredible, isn't it?"

For a few moments she was frozen in place, but she finally managed to force herself to move. She slowly made her way over to him, eyes taking everything in. She was hugging herself as if she was cold. "So.... None of this exists?" She didn't speak in any more than a hoarse whisper.

"That depends on how you want to look at it." Trinity could swear that there was an underlying tone of amusement in his voice, despite the fact that it was obviously a serious matter.

She shook the thought from her head, trying to clear it. "How is that possible?" she stammered. "We... we can't be inside a program.... How could a computer do something like this?"

"The same way it has for the past sixteen years of your life."

Morpheus gave her what would have been a meaningful look if he hadn't been wearing mirrored glasses. Trinity stared into her own reflections until he moved away and sat in one of the two red leather chairs.

"What do you mean?"

"The world that you know isn't real." She took a few steps closer to where he was. There was a remote control on the table between the chairs, and he turned on the TV. "Everything in your life that you have seen or touched or heard -" the screen flipped through images of various cities, New York, Tokyo, London, "- everything about the world as you knew it was part of an illusion. This is the world as it truly is."

With another click of the remote, the television disappeared, and the endless white was replaced, the new landscape seeming to literally spring from the ground beneath her feet. It was a ruined, barren land of jagged rock, above an ocean that looked to be polluted beyond restitution. Her gaze moved beyond the water to the other side of the bay. To the burned and barely-standing buildings there, a statue on a tiny island in the water... oh, God.... This was New York.

"Although you believe it is the year 1988, it is somewhere closer to 2188. But we aren't sure of the exact date. We _do_ know that at some point early in the 21st century, all of humanity was united in celebration, commemorating the creation of the first successful AI program."

It took a moment for the words to break through to her consciousness, and a few more to decipher their meaning. The last part caught her attention. _Artificial intelligence_.

"Based on that singular program, an entire race of AI machines was created. We aren't completely sure as to what happened, but a war broke out between humans and the machines. Because they were powered by solar energy, we thought that by scorching the sky, we could finally stop them."

"Scorching?"

"Creating a never-ending storm to block out the sun." The calmness in his voice was unnerving. "We thought that they wouldn't be able to survive without an energy source as plentiful as the sun. Unfortunately, we did not foresee what they had planned as an alternate energy source."

The destroyed New York skyline disappeared, and there was a momentary void. Then they were on a high ledge above a field. It was as dark as if it were night, but from what Morpheus had said, she couldn't be sure that that was true. There were more machines, huge machines, floating in the air, with huge tentacle-like tubes extending to the ground. They were pulling the glowing red pods from the fields below. Pods, miniature versions of the ones she had seen before. There were people inside these ones, too. Babies.

"The machines had a vast store of knowledge of the human body, and were able to cause us pure misery during the war. They used the humans that survived as a power source. We are no longer born, but instead we are grown, in fields that stretch as far as the eye can see." He gestured around them. "On it's own, a single human body can generate more bioelectricity than a 120-volt battery."

It changed again, and a rush of fear filled Trinity at the familiar setting. It was a memory still fresh in her mind - the towers she had woken up in, still with a pattern of glowing red pods. She couldn't even see the tops. Her attention snapped away when Morpheus spoke again.

"With billions of humans, you can imagine the amount of power that could be produced. The machines had found a never-ending, infinitely renewable energy source." This illusion, too, disappeared. Everything faded away, and they were in the endless expanse of white again. She turned just as he stood up and stepped towards her. "Human beings no longer have any control over their lives, Trinity, not from the very moment that those lives begin. You wanted to know what the Matrix is. It is what enslaves the human race, and so long as it exists we can never truly be free. It is a prison that most people don't even know exists."

Trinity hadn't moved during his entire explanation. She still stood in exactly the same place, her arms still wrapped around her body. Strangely, ridiculously, almost, she found his sunglasses unnerving. Unnerving because the eyes were the easiest way to read someone, and she couldn't see his. She didn't know what there was _to_ read, really, but it still disturbed her. Or maybe it was the fact that he could most likely see her every thought process on her face right now.

She turned away.

"Let me out of here." She didn't speak in anything more than a whisper, her face turned down and eyes shut tight to make some attempt at keeping her demeanor cool and calm. But the longer her request went unanswered, the less it worked. "Let me out of here," she said more forcefully. "_Now_!" 

***

She didn't wait for the chill of the needle being pulled out of her neck to pass before leaping from her chair.

"Trinity -" Tank called after her, "Trinity, wait -"

She didn't listen. She was already halfway to the ladder by then, and didn't look back to see if he was still following her. Three steps down, then jumped the rest of the way to the floor. Instead of going back to her room, though, she found herself leaning her forehead against the railing.

This was a first, she thought as she sat against the wall. The first time she had ever been _truly_ overwhelmed. The first time she felt as if her thoughts and emotions would completely overcome her. Of course, she had come close before. When her mother had run off, when she had first started trying to find out what the Matrix was. Back at the club - which seemed like mere hours before. The difference was, all of those times, she had had someone to turn to when if it got really bad. She was alone now. And, to be perfectly honest with herself, what could a person possibly tell you that would force you to wrap your head around more than this?

She held her head between her hands, trying to keep her mind from spinning with confusion and shock. It didn't fade, preferring instead to stay as overwhelming as it was. She automatically moved to run her hand through her hair, the way she always did when she was stressed, but stopped when she felt that she _had_ no hair to speak of. She opened her eyes just the smallest bit. A few feet in front of her, a door was halfway open. Seeing that it lead to a kitchen suddenly made her feel thirsty.

Trinity tried not to think about anything as she looked through the few cabinets for a cup. While she was waiting for it to fill up in the sink, she massaged her temples, trying to rid her mind of a thousand chaotic thoughts.

It was strange that it was only the times when Trinity most needed her mind to obey her orders that it didn't.

***

She didn't look up when she heard the heavy metal door open wider. She made no move to acknowledge anyone's presence at all. Her eyes did not move from the little water still remaining in her cup when Morpheus sat down across from her.

It tasted strange, the water. Very strange, but not necessarily bad. She had tried to get her mind off of things by figuring out why that would be. But it hadn't worked. She had come up with two explanations: it could be that, being on a ship, the water was recycled. A ship, in the real world, as opposed to the program she had been in her entire life. Or, it could be that this was, she reasoned, the first time in her entire life that she had actually had anything to drink. Because, until recently, everything she knew had been an illusion.

Yeah. That got her mind off it.

Morpheus didn't say anything. He seemed to know that Trinity's head was still buzzing, and was waiting for her to speak first.

"So all the things I remember from my life never really happened?" she asked, voice nearly inaudible.

"Like I said -" she glanced up at him, "- that depends on how you want to look at it."

She looked down again, and finished off the water. "Everything you said is really true?"

"Yes, unfortunately." There was obvious regret, and also sadness, in his voice. "Every word."

She didn't say anything more. She only stood from the bench at the table, and filled her cup half-way again. She then left without a goodbye.

***

It was a lot to take in, she would admit that much. And the implications of it all were terrifying, to say the least. But it all made sense. Everything fit. There were no gaps in his story to suggest that it was made-up or untrue.

Trinity sat on the edge of the tiny bed and pulled off her boots, suddenly exhausted. As she crawled under the thin blanket on the bed, she found herself wondering what she was going to do now. She couldn't go back to her old life, Morpheus had told her so. She didn't really know if she _wanted_ to go back. Come to think of it, she didn't have the faintest clue as to what she was going to do after this.

_You have always known that there is something wrong with the world, Trinity, and you have always wanted to make it better. I can give you the chance to do just that._

That was what he had told her. That she could help. Trouble was, right now her mind was spinning too much to even begin to think of how she would do it. Hell, she didn't even know what Morpheus and the others did to help.

Her eyelids felt heavy, and she was quickly falling asleep.

But, she thought as she gave in to the exhaustion, however she was supposed to help, she was grateful to do it. Grateful to do what she had always know she was meant to do.

***

Niobe barely made a sound as she entered the mess hall and sat down, taking the space Trinity had just vacated. Her face remained blank and empty when Morpheus looked up at her and smiled slightly.

"You tell her?"

He nodded.

"So how'd she take it?" There was a long silence, while Morpheus seemed to be thinking of just how well Trinity _had_ taken it.

"Better than I expected."

***

Like I said, pressed for time, but this upcoming week is fall break from school, so I'll have a lot more time to type, even with all the packing. So, I might actually whip out a new chapter fairly soon.

R+R! : )


	9. Soldier in Training

I know, I know, I need to get my ass in gear and write faster and post sooner, blah, blah, blah, just shut up, stop bothering me, and read. I'm beating myself up about it enough as it is.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Nine

Soldier in Training

***

Trinity lay in the bed, not moving, refusing to open her eyes or focus any of her senses. She remained completely still, thinking, hoping against all hope that it had all been a dream, then thinking of the irony of that hope. Hoping that she would open her eyes to the white walls of a small bedroom in a New York apartment. Hoping that she would look over at her alarm clock, and see that it was set to ring two minutes from now. Hoping, against all possible hope, that none of it had happened.

She let her eyes open only very slightly, allowed her senses to surface slowly.

Metal walls of a tiny cabin in a military ship. No alarm clock, just a computer on the desk built into the wall.

She sighed heavily and fell back against the pillow. Too much to wish for. To much to wish that it wasn't true. She lay there for several minutes, trying to comprehend everything that she had been told. That she had spent the last sixteen years sleeping, dreaming a dream so vivid she thought it was real.

At that thought, it occurred to her that she should be grateful - because, horrible as it was to know all of this, wouldn't it be worse to still be trapped within that prison, oblivious to reality? But, still, it was a hell of a lot to take in.

She sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, onto the cold floor. It was different, the feeling of the cold. Everything was different here. The way things felt and smelled, the sound of everything. How the lines of the things she saw were just a little bit more crisp. All of it was different in a way that she couldn't describe. Stronger, perhaps. More acute, more intense. It wasn't as if she were experiencing a new thing she had never encountered before. It was an altogether new experience, of everything. All completely unlike anything she had felt before. Yet, despite that dissimilarity, she would not fail to recognize a feeling when it came to her.

Like hunger, for instance.

***

The door was closed as quietly as Trinity could manage. She thought back to a time, not so long ago in her memory, and retraced the steps she had taken to get to the mess hall. Right, down the hall, left, and right again. Yes, this looked familiar enough. There was the ladder up to the next deck, and to the right the door to the mess hall. Open, again.

There were two people inside, speaking in quiet voices. She couldn't tell who they were, until she slipped inside the open door, and stood there for a moment. She watched, waiting for one of them to notice her. Niobe turned away from the counter first, and set a bowl and cup on the table between them.

"Well," she said kindly, sitting down, "look who's up."

A bit uncomfortable. Having someone she considered an almost complete stranger treat her with such familiarity. But she ignored it, for the time being. "Do you have anything to eat?"

Tank was at the back counter, leaning against it with his arms crossed. He laughed at her request. "Yeah, but you won't like it." He turned to look through one of the cabinets, and pulled out an old, small metal tray. "Sit down," he called over his shoulder.

She found a spot at the edge of the table bench, and waited, staring down at her hands. She tugged at a loose string at the hem of one sleeve. This sweater, surprisingly, was still a vivid shade of blue.

"Breakfast is served." He set the bowl down in front of her, spoon already waiting in it. But there was nothing appealing about the food itself.

She wasn't sure, but Trinity could swear that she simply sat and stared for nearly a minute. Tank's quiet laughter barely registered. She picked up the spoon - spork, really - and pushed the off-white goop around for several seconds. Finally, she looked up and spoke.

"This is _edible_?"

Niobe laughed this time. "Yes, it is."

Trinity stared down at the so-called "food" once again, seriously debating whether or not she was really that hungry. Pushing it around, she received another growl from her stomach, and finally gave in.

She ate in silence, trying not to focus on the actual taste of the food. Tried not to focus on anything, really. She tried to keep her mind blank, as much as she could, so as not to give herself another headache with the complexity of it all. So that she wouldn't be overwhelmed again.

"You were hungry..." Niobe mused, bringing her back to reality. She stared blankly for a moment, then looked down at her bowl. She hadn't even realized how fast she was eating. Niobe then folded her arms and leaned against the table. "So, how're you holding up?"

Trinity's head snapped up to look at her, eyes guarded once again. She hesitated for a moment before speaking. "All right, I guess."

But she wasn't. She knew that, and she knew that they did, too. She had questions, plenty of them, but she couldn't bring herself to ask a single one. She didn't like that. It wasn't like her at all. Rarely was she uncertain of herself, of what she did or would do. In the past, she had always been straightforward, always spoke her mind.

She hated being unsure of herself.

But she had a good reason, she supposed. A reason, or perhaps an excuse, to be unsure. Before, back when she hadn't known any of this, she was familiar with everything around her. Familiar with the people, familiar with the place, with the situation, the rules. And if ever she was thrown for a loop with something new, it rarely took her long to familiarize herself with that, too. It was easy for her, those times, because she knew how everything worked, and knew when she should and shouldn't do certain things. When she should or shouldn't say certain things.

But this was completely different. In the past, every new thing Trinity encountered was similar to the old things, and was easily adjusted to. None of this was like that. Everything, everyone here was completely different from her previous experiences. None of it was even remotely the same. She didn't have the faintest idea as to how she was supposed to handle any of it. So, for the time being, she remained poised, on guard, and closed to the world.

There were some things, however, that she needed to know, on guard or not.

"So what am I supposed to do now?" she asked hesitantly.

"Well," said Niobe, who then took a sip of her water. "You'll stay here, probably. You could stay in Zion, but I don't think you'd be the type that would want to."

Trinity was watching just barely watching her out of the corner of her eye. "What's Zion?

" It's a city, underground," she explained. "It's where we live, when we're not here. It's the one and only place where we're safe. The one place that's still ours." Grief in her voice, just the smallest bit. "Anyway, you'd be here, helping us."

"Doing what?"

She shrugged, as if it were nothing. Then again, to her, it probably was. "Things around the ship, in the Matrix. Helping us find more people to unplug. Fighting."

Fighting? Who, or what, could they possibly want her to fight? This was not a simple, low key, petty war that was being fought. That much was certain. And, logically, the more serious a war, the more dangerous the fighting involved. And the less she would be able to handle being in a situation like that.

"No...." she began slowly. This was not what she had been promised. "No, I can't do that." She had been told that she would be given the opportunity to help. To right what was wrong with the world. And, so far as she was concerned, that meant protecting. Protecting people, as she had done her whole life. "I can't fight a war." Because, in war, you were forced to kill. "I _hate_ wars."

"Why?" Strange, how such a simple question could hold such meaning.

Trinity stayed quiet for a long time. But she finally shook her head, slowly. "I can't kill. I won't."

Yes. Morpheus had told her about this, in Zion, a few months before. In watching her, he had soon discovered that her search for the truth extended far beyond mere curiosity. Unlike most, she not only wanted to know the cause of that unsettled feeling, but she also wanted to end it. To end what was wrong, even though she didn't know what it was at the time. He had also told her, as they finally settled into bed a few nights after Trinity was unplugged, the offer he had made her.

It mad sense enough. She knew there was something wrong with the world, and she wanted to fix it. Wanted to bring others away from it's reach, protect them. Killing was not protecting. It was a naive wish in this war, to not have to kill. If she was to be a soldier, she would have to kill, eventually. But if her will proved to be as strong as they expected, the lives she would take would be nearly invisible compared to the ones she would save.

"It's not that kind of fighting," she said simply, not voicing any of her thoughts.

"What then?"

"The kind of fighting you already know how to do."

She waited a moment, turning this new information over in her head. "That would require a hell of a lot of skill, wouldn't it?" Niobe grinned at her, very slightly. "I'm guessing you're talking about fighting something a little more dangerous than some street gang. I don't have those kinds of capabilities."

Niobe grinned a bit more widely and resumed eating. "You will," she said a moment later. "We just need to train you up a little."

"...train me?" She received no response. She quickly glanced around the mess hall, noting it's size. Like every other place she had seen so far on this ship, there was barely enough room to move. "_Where_? This place isn't big enough." She ignored the other woman's quiet laughter. "And I don't know how good you think I am, but it would take at least a couple of years to train me as well as you need."

Without warning, Tank's head snapped up next to her, reminding her that he was there as well. He gave Niobe a questioning look, obviously hoping she would say yes. Almost before she waved him off, he was on his feet and tugging at Trinity's wrist.

"Come with me."

Reluctantly she followed him, allowing him to lead her out of the Mess hall.

"Don't fry her brain."

"I resent that," he called back.

***

Trinity's teeth involuntarily clenched as Tank plugged her in again.

"You'll get used to that," he said as he moved back to the operator's chair.

"I doubt it."

He typed in various commands on the double keyboards, and the screens flickered to life. There was a small set of compartments hidden away beneath the three central screens, from which he pulled a small metal case. Opening it, he pulled out a small handful of diskettes. "What fighting style had you started learning? Kung fu?" He flipped through perhaps a dozen disks before he stopped on one.

"Yeah." He put all but one of the disks back in the box and set it aside. He inserted the one kept out into the computer system, and typed more commands on the keyboard. "What are you doing?"

"You'll see," he said absently, entering orders onto the touch-screens this time. "Now... don't fight it. You'll just end up with a migraine."

She didn't have a chance to ask what he meant. One more key hit, and her mind was bombarded with a flood of information. She felt like she was going to get a headache whether she fought it or not. She didn't even realize what had happened until it ended, almost a full minute later.

Her eyes snapped back open, and she was breathing hard. Tank left her alone for a moment, letting her work through everything that just happened. Letting her mind run through the things she now knew.

Finally she looked over at him, shock, confusion and awe written on her face. He smirked at her, and picked another disk out of the box.

"So what would you like next?"

***

Niobe stood behind Tank, watching the screens and biding the remaining time until the rest of the crew woke up. She tapped her fingers against the top of the chair disapprovingly. "You're supposed to start with the operation programs."

He wasn't listening. "Mmm-hmm."

She stared down into her cup, swirling around what little water was left. "As I recall, we only let you on the crew because you graduated top of your class." She drank the last of it. "Start breaking all these rules and who knows how long it'll be until you get kicked off."

"Mmm-hmm."

***

Tank hit enter one final time and turned his chair to face Trinity, waiting for the final program to upload to her. Soon after, her eyes fluttered open, and she brought one hand up to her face. "Shit...."

"I'll take that as a good thing."

She rubbed her eyes, trying to make them focus better. "How the hell did you do that?"

"Special program designed to download into your long-term memory," he explained. "Just uploads through your plug. Pretty easy, really."

Trinity laughed quietly, her mental high only beginning to wear off. "Shit..... I feel like I could take on someone with both arms tied behind my back."

"You'll get to test that theory." He turned back to the screens, but didn't do anything. She stopped her revelry and stared at him.

"What do you mean?"

"What?" He turned and smirked at her again. "You think we'd just download all that stuff to ya and let it all rot away 'cause you didn't use it?"

***

She remembered, vaguely, hearing someone say that she was going to have to fight Morpheus. Sometime soon after she had been pulled out, and she was still drifting in and out of consciousness. She hadn't known what they were talking about then.

Trinity opened her eyes, expecting to see nothing but white again. She found herself instead in a traditional dojo. And a very large one at that. Sanded bamboo panels lined the floor, and wooden pillars suspended higher walls. There was sunlight streaming in from the windows. One side of the room even held a shrine ad dozens of swords.

"This is one of the training programs that we use." Morpheus had appeared from nowhere in front of her. He wasn't wearing his glasses - or any of the other things she had expected. Just a simple black sparring uniform. "It's programming is the same as that of the Matrix. It has rules, like speed constraints and gravity. We're here to teach you that those rules can be overcome. It's a simple matter of using your will power to ignore the rules you _think_ are supposed to exist. Understand?"

She nodded.

***

Tank keyed up the remaining screens to display virtual dojo. The entire crew had been pulled from whatever they were doing to watch Trinity's first fight, and now stood huddled around the monitors watching and waiting.

"Let the games begin."

***

She moved into a fighting stance, just as she had countless times before, and watched him do the same. There was a familiarity in that, if nothing else. She held his eyes for several seconds, and quickly realized that he was waiting for her to make the first move. One more deep breath, and she attacked.

There was something in his eyes, something that she caught just as she sent a punch directly at his face. He caught it. Her mind stayed with that look, barely paying attention to her adversary. He was expecting something from her. Some ability, some level of skill, something that she couldn't pinpoint. She moved automatically, as she had done so many times before, as she realized that it was as if he was proud of her for something she hadn't done yet.

Trinity came back to her senses just in time to duck beneath a kick Morpheus had aimed at her stomach, and spin away. She scolded herself inwardly, for being so careless. _Focus, Trinity_, she thought, backing several more feet away. _Focus_.

She pushed all other thoughts from her head, willing her mind to process all of the moves she now knew. 

"Are you ready this time?" he asked calmly.

She nodded very slightly. Holding his eyes, she moved into a ready stance she had never used before. A tiny grin pulled at the corners of her mouth as she attacked once more, ecstatic at these new abilities.

***

Two years of fighting, and here she was with skills that should only belong to someone with a decade's more training. Impossible, she knew, and had she not been experiencing it herself, she would never have believed it.

She didn't know how long she had been at this. Right block - five minutes, ten - flipping backwards over the leg sweep - an hour? 

This was power coursing through her, raw power. The power of an adrenaline rush and the knowledge that you were suddenly a master of something you had so sought after. She loved it, reveled in it as she moved, kicks, strikes, and blocks all streaming from her without effort or thought.

Morpheus aimed a punch directly at her stomach. She blocked it with her right hand an instant before impact, and spun around to kick him in the chest. He flipped backwards with the momentum of it.

***

The crew remained positioned around the monitors, not having moved from where they stood before the fight began. Each wore a different expression - some of awe, some of pride. This only proved how unique Trinity was. Most new recruits did one of two things on their first fight: they either got their asses kicked within one minute, barely blocking a single strike, and making almost none of their own; or, they moved blindly, using their new skills at every available opportunity, and getting their asses kicked within two minutes.

Not Trinity. She had been in there at least ten minutes, and it did not seem like she would be down any time soon. She successfully blocked or avoided nearly ever punch and kick Morpheus sent her way. And a fair number of her own moves were making contact.

"She's good," Apoc muttered under his breath. There was a quiet murmur of agreement.

***

It was so much easier now, fighting, moving. She knew a thousand more offensive and defensive moves, a thousand more and better ways to fight, instead of having to rely on the few moves she had learned the old-fashioned way. It was incredible.

They were spinning around each other now, fists flying at what should have been impossible speed, but Trinity's eyes somehow managed to keep up with every one.

The rush was familiar, she had felt it before. But the feeling then couldn't hold a candle to the intensity of it now. The feeling of learning something like this, knowing that you were capable of something so powerful.

***

She didn't move like anyone else, that was the first thing Morpheus noticed. He had trained other new recruits before, ones who had a background in fighting, but even they were not like this. There was a stiffness to their moves, as if they planned them before acting. Not with Trinity. Her moves flowed smoothly - an instinctual action, not one thought through. In this world, fighting as they had to, that was an asset that could save your life. It was as if she simply shut her mind off, and let her body take over - there was sheer grace in her movements.

But, he noted, ducking beneath a side kick, that grace did not lack in strength. It did not take him long to learn that anyone who made the mistake of believing that her grace came without immeasurable strength would sorely regret it.

This one was not like anything he had ever seen before. This one was a force to be reckoned with.

***

When she woke, there was not a still-lingering exhaustion, no wish that she could continue to sleep for another three hours.. It was perhaps the first decent night's sleep she had had since they pulled her out.

Trinity sat up in her bunk, feeling around on the wall for where she knew the light switch should be. She squinted against the fluorescent light when it blinked on. Her eyes still weren't used to that. She locked her fingers together and stretched her arms above her head, remembering. Remembering the fight from several days ago, that she couldn't seem to get out of her head.

Despite what they had told her, of being only a simulation, and that her body was lying still in a chair, she had become tired. She was worn after what seemed like an eternity of fighting, and her mind began to slow. Morpheus had seen the opportunity, and with a swift kick to her stomach, she was sent flying across the floor. She stayed there for several seconds, finally rising to her knees, breathing hard and mentally berating herself.

"That shouldn't have happened," she had hissed as he walked closer to her.

"It's all right." His voice was calm, almost reverent. "That was easily one of the most impressive first fights I've ever seen."

He said she was good, great, even. They had all said that, when she came out. They had all been speaking too fast for her to understand, but she had caught something about her speed. They brought it back up on the monitor, showed her.

She had been just about to open the door to her cabin that night, about to go to sleep, when she asked him. She stopped Morpheus in the corridor, and asked him how she was able to move so fast.

He smiled at her, that same glint of pride in his eye. "If there's one thing you're going to learn here, Trinity, it's this: No matter how many physical limitations your body may carry, your mind carries only the limits you allow."

Only in these past few days was Trinity beginning to understand what he meant.

She pulled on her boots, and tugged the sweater she had left slung over her cabin's lone chair over her head. She made a mental note to herself to get an actual clock for her room, thinking how she hated having no sense of time.

She wandered around the narrow halls of the ship, looking for a place she hadn't been before, a new place to explore. She enjoyed, much more than her previous state, how much more comfortable she was growing with the crew. She had slowly begun letting them in over these past few days, the more she got to know them. They were teaching her, explaining the things that she didn't know. She was really beginning to trust them.

Maneuvering her way through the many bending halls, she found another ladder, leading down to a deck below. Climbing down it, the air around her became instantly warmer. Judging by that, and the many pieces of massive, complex machinery around her, she would have to say that this was the engine room.

A voice called out from behind her. "You're going to have to get acclimated to a normal sleep schedule sooner or later." She turned to see Tank, hunched over some loose wires and not looking at her. A tiny smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. Already she had decided that she liked him best.

"I'd prefer later," she said, sitting across from him. "What are you doing?"

He shrugged, not really thinking over his answer. "The connection between the piloting computers and here was getting glitches. Just fixing it before anything happens."

"You do this kind of stuff a lot?" she asked quietly, after a moment's silence

"Yeah." He still wasn't looking at her. "It's an old ship. It's got all kinds of things wrong with it. We just have to fix all the little problems as they pop up."

Trinity surveyed her surroundings in silence, letting him work for a minute. That had been one of her first impressions of the ship - that it was falling apart at the seams. And, apparently, it was. But it was also apparent that this crew carried a certain love of this ship, and would keep it up and running until it was no longer needed, no matter how long that took. Yes, they were like a family here. And, although she wouldn't admit it to any of them yet, she was hoping that she would someday be considered a part of it. She hadn't had much of that back in the Matrix, at the end, save for Switch.

Switch. Suddenly, Trinity couldn't help but laugh quietly.

"What?" Tank looked up at her for the first time.

"Just thinking of a friend of mine. She would find all of this unbelievably ironic." Her quiet laughter subsided.

"Why?" He stopped his re-wiring, and sat up to look at her.

She shook her head. "She always hated movies where machines took over the world. She always said that it was about the most ridiculous story anyone could come up with, because it would never happen."

Tank grinned, and turned his attention back to the loose wires. Yeah, that was Switch. Hated The Terminator. And now here was her best friend, living in a reality she thought couldn't possibly exist. That thought struck another chord for Trinity, and here eyebrows drew together in worry.

"What's Zion like?" He looked at her questioningly. "I just have this picture in my head.... Something out of Terminator. Just.... old bunkers, practically no food, everybody sick...."

He smiled at her and shook his head. "No. Nope, not even close."

"So what's it like, then?"

"Well..." He repositioned himself, his muscles having cramped from sitting there so long. "There's a little less than a quarter million people there, so a couple old bunkers wouldn't be anywhere near big enough. Certainly not a shortage of food."

"So why isn't there a decent thing to eat around here?" she quipped.

"Not enough room, and it wouldn't stay good long enough. But the place is really huge, though, I think you'd like it."

"When do I get to see it?"

"Not sure." He was only half paying attention to her. "But we'll have to dock to recharge the ship within a couple months. You'll see it then."

There were several long minutes of silence as she let him work, watching him. She didn't speak again until he tucked the wires away and closed the small hatch in the floor. He leaned back against the wall as she asked her question. "How long have you been here? On the ship?"

"Not too long. Six or seven months. To be perfectly honest, it's a miracle they let me on the crew, just 'cause I'm so young."

"So why'd they let you on?" She stood and followed him to the ladder leading to the upper deck. He waited for her at the top, not answering until they started walking again.

"I'm a good operator. That, and Dozer's my brother - that had a lot to do with it." She nodded at the corner of his vision. He turned his head to regard her more fully. She showed no sign of recognizing the look. Tank had quickly noticed that she was like that - reserved, quiet, closed. She had been up and moving for a week now, and she had stoic for the first few days. She would speak only when she was asked a question, and her answers were always curt and to the point. But recently, with the more time she had been spending with everyone, he was noticing less of that. Slowly but surely, she was opening up to them. "You doin' okay?" he asked quietly. _But not completely open_, he thought, seeing the guarded look she gave him. After a moment it ebbed slightly.

"I'm fine. This is just so strange, everything. I can barely wrap my head around it." She was grateful when he left it at that. It wasn't something she liked to dwell on, because, horrible as it all was, there wasn't a doubt in her mind that it was true.

***

All I can say is that it's a good thing I wrote about 90% of this before I saw Revolutions. Otherwise, you'd be waiting a loooooong time to hear from me. By the way, Revolutions is awesome, you _must_ see it, even if you've heard terrible things about it. Everyone must see it once.

R+R!! : )


	10. Expectations

**Enters timidly behind a big shield, waving a white flag** I know it took longer than is usually too long, but I have two very good excuses: mid-term exams and Christmas. So... don't shoot? I have a NeoClone! He'll protect me! **Runs away**

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Ten

Expectations

***

To Trinity, at least, watch shifts were a mixed blessing.

Everyone hated them, there was no doubt about that. It was the most tedious and boring job there was to do on a ship, and as nothing ever seemed to happen, you spent your hours watching random people go about their boring lives. No one could even give a ballpark guess as to how many hours they had spent examining the falling code of the Matrix, or how many other ways they could have spent that time. Training, working, or getting a decent night's sleep.

But on the other hand, watch had its upsides as well.

Before she had been unplugged, much of her time was spent thinking. She thought about anything, really - her schoolwork, her job, something interesting that had happened on the way home. It could be anything, or nothing at all, but her day simply wasn't complete without some time spent lost in thought. But in the past weeks, what little time she had to herself wasn't nearly long enough to sort through the thoughts running loose in her head. There were too many, and they were too cluttered to work out in the time during lunch or just before bed. The past few days had given her a chance to sit down and think, the way she used to.

So here she sat, before the Construct screens, on her shift. She was curled up in the operator's chair with a thin blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders to ward of the chill. Only a few days before, Tank had downloaded the code-reading program to her, allowing them to work her into the shift schedule. She had been there for a while, since she had finished dinner, while everyone else was off working on their own things.

She barely turned her head when Morpheus climbed up the ladder into the Core.

"Anything?" he asked briefly, stalking up behind her. Trinity shook her head.

He did not linger, instead moving off to one of the computers near the far wall. She didn't pay attention to what he was doing, and was quiet until he was about to leave, when a thought struck her.

"What do you normally look for, besides Agents attacking people from other ships?"

"Potentials," he said simply. "For unplugging."

He had stopped behind her chair, watching the screens over her shoulder. "How do you know who to pull out? I'm assuming you don't just pull out anyone."

"We don't. Most people wouldn't be able to survive outside of the Matrix - they're too dependent on it." Trinity glanced up at him through the silence, waiting for him to continue. "They're usually people like you. People who know something's wrong." He left her side, and went to another computer, working there. He continued to speak anyway. "Sometimes we pull out people who only know about the Matrix, but aren't aware of anything that's out of place. It's usually both."

Trinity wondered at this for a moment. "That seems like an awful lot of people to unplug," she said quietly, almost to herself.

"Not really." Morpheus spoke absently, paying more attention to whatever he was doing on the computer. "Some people aren't as adamant about discovering the truth as others, and they pick the blue pill. And some are too old."

She turned over her shoulder to stare at him, trying to pull him back into the conversation. "Why would they be too old?"

He sighed quietly, remembering something from long ago. "When we're young, we're very open-minded, and would easily believe anything. But the older we get, the less open-minded we are, the less accepting of unusual ideas. Over a certain age, most people wouldn't be able to comprehend this reality - they'd go mad. Some would kill themselves over it. I've seen it happen."

Trinity stayed quiet, leaving him to handle the memories himself. It was silent for several minutes, save for the quiet typing of whatever Morpheus was doing. The clacking finally subsided, and she thought this as good a time as any to speak again. "What's the youngest you can be unplugged?"

"Just old enough to do what we tell them to, so they can survive long enough for us to pick them up. We generally don't unplug children, but there are orphanages in Zion, for anyone we pull out younger than eighteen."

She spun fully around in the chair this time, gaping at him for several long seconds. "Anyone younger than _eighteen_?" Morpheus nodded, not noticing the tone of her voice. "You mean that's where I have to go?"

He was watching data flash rapidly across the screen. He still wasn't paying her much attention. "Yes, under most circumstances, you would -"

"That isn't what you told me," she snapped, standing from her chair and briskly walking closer to him, anger in her every move. That brought him back to attention.

"Trinity, let me -"

"You told me - you've _all_ told me - that I would be able to stay here and fight, you told me I'd be able to help!" She didn't bother to keep her voice down, letting her fury into her voice.

"_Trinity_." He grabbed her by the shoulders, staring her straight in the eye while she took several calming breaths. He let her go when some of the anger had left her face. "Yes, _generally_ we would take you to Zion, and you would stay there for a few years."

"There'd better be a damn good 'but' coming after this," she growled, not looking away. In the back of his mind, Morpheus couldn't help but notice how little rank seemed to affect her.

"_But_, if we unplug someone who we believe has high potential as a fighter, they're permitted to stay on the ship, if they can prove that they're good enough."

"Wonderful." Trinity crossed her arms over her chest, still glaring slightly. "Prove it how?"

"There's a test you'll have to take," he said, turning back to the computers. Trinity's eyes followed him like a hawk, instantly on guard for his blatant attempt to divulge as little information as possible. "Measure your speed, concentration, basic abilities, things like that. Based off of that, we'll be determining where you'll end up."

He turned back and smiled at her. And _again_ he had that look of pride in her, as if she had already taken this test and had done better than anyone ever had. Why did he keep doing that? As of yet, she had done nothing to merit such pride, so why did he keep giving it?

Morpheus turned away and left the Core, halting her thoughts. She watched him as he descended the ladder to the lower deck. He didn't look back at her.

***

Trinity gracefully flipped over Morpheus' leg when he tried to trip her. Upon landing, she spun around in the same move and kicked him.

They had all gone easy on her, at first. None of them had fought their hardest against her, done their best to try and beat an inexperienced trainee, fresh from her pod. She was good, no doubt, better than almost everyone at that stage in their training. But she was still new and uneducated, still needing time for her skills to grow. They weren't doing that anymore.

She hadn't been able to get any of them to give any details about the test Morpheus had told her about, beyond the fact that the best way to pass was to be as skilled in every area as possible. So, on that piece of advice, her every waking moment in the past week had been spent in training simulations. She had tried her luck in various situation-specific programs. A number of Agent programs, driving, weaponry. But her favorite was the motorcycle course. She loved that one, even though Morpheus frowned upon her new habit of riding against traffic. But much of the time was in the dojo sparring, as they were doing now.

Morpheus would be the first to say that it had paid off.

For now they were simply sparring. For her part, Trinity had taken up altogether avoiding as many strikes as she blocked. She would spin beneath kicks, sidestep them, flip over a leg sweep. And then there were her most impressive jumps, when she would jump clear over him, halfway to the ceiling and across most of the dojo. She had picked it up somewhere along the way - watching the others, perhaps Niobe or Silver - and had taken to it very quickly.

She made one such jump now, in avoiding a kick to her stomach. A moment later she landed gracefully a few feet away, instantly in a fighting stance again. Morpheus, on the other hand, after being still for several seconds, watching her, straightened up slowly. In confusion, Trinity followed.

"What?"

He held her eyes for a moment, his expression blank, thinking. He then looked to the ceiling. "Tank," he said, seemingly to thin air. "Load the jump."

Trinity watched him silently for a long minute, and nothing happened. Everything stayed as it was. "What are you doing?"

In the next instant, the dojo flashed away to the Construct again, and a city was rushing up beneath their feet. They landed on the roof of one of the taller buildings, and everything stilled again. Trinity scrutinized everything carefully - this wasn't a program they had put her in before.

"After some of the jumps you've made," he said, drawing her focus again, "I'd say it's safe to take it to the next level." He gave her a small smile behind mirrored glasses. "It's just like anything else - it's only restrictions are the ones you allow it to have."

She had no time to ask him what he meant. Without warning, he was running to the far ledge of the roof. Trinity stood frozen, staring after him, eyes widening as she realized he wasn't slowing down. In fact, the closer he got to the ledge, the faster he ran.

She expected him to fall. It was logical enough that he should. There was at least fifty feet between this building and the next, how could he do anything else? Which is why she gaped in amazement when he soared up and up into a perfect arch, landing smoothly several seconds later. She could swear she heard the cement of the other roof crack when he landed.

Trinity's jaw slowly dropped as she took a few involuntary steps forward, staring in amazement. Morpheus simply straightened up and turned to face her, waiting.

Waiting for _her,_ she realized after several seconds, waiting for her to jump. She snapped herself out of the daze, forcing herself to concentrate. She moved back several feet to give herself a good running start.

"Okay, Trinity. Focus." She took several deep breaths to calm herself, ignoring the fact that it wasn't real - it calmed her anyway. _Focus_. Before she even realized what she was doing, she bolted towards the far edge of the roof.

Time slowed, and what was only a few seconds seemed like hours. She kept telling herself, over and over in her mind, that none of it was real, it was just a simulation that she could overcome. She was a hacker, after all - she had broken the rules of a computer a thousand times over. And, as Morpheus himself had said, she had already made some very impressive jumps - why not this one as well?

She almost managed to convince herself that that was true.

The sole of her boot collided loudly with the ledge as she jumped off. Her nerves calmed very slightly and her fear began to ebb slowly, during the first few moments when she was sailing smoothly through the air. She opened her eyes, only a sliver, and saw, with frightening clarity, that she was much farther from the other building than she thought. And the next thing she knew, the building was rising up before her, it's windows flashing past in a blur. She was tumbling downward, faster and faster, any memory of the fact that it wasn't real erased from her mind.

She didn't remember if she screamed, nor if she even had time to, before impacting with the pavement face first.

Trinity expected the force to break every bone in her body, if she managed to live through it. It felt like it, hurt like hell, but that pain was closely preceded by shock when she was thrown back into the air again, as if it were only a trampoline.

She had barely realized all that had happened until she landed on her back in agony, staring up at Morpheus' tiny figure as she berated herself for her failure.

***

Trinity didn't know why she chose to go to the cockpit. Her room would have been better. More private, more comfortable, quieter if only by a small margin. Perhaps it was simply because it was closer. Maybe just the direction she stumbled in when they pulled her from the simulation, wanting to get away from their staring eyes - half disappointed, half vacant. Either way, it's where she found herself, sitting against the wall for more than an hour, willing the soreness in her muscles away. It didn't work.

How could she have fallen? It was so simple, exactly the same things she had already done, even if it was on a grander scale. Her mind was going to great lengths to tell her how idiotic she had been, how ridiculously incompetent, and none too politely.

She was in the middle of a particularly long-winded curse when Niobe and Dozer came in and started up the ships engines. She didn't bother to see what looks they gave her.

They had been piloting the ship for perhaps ten minutes when Niobe finally glanced back at Trinity. She smiled slightly at the younger girl's naiveté.

"Stop beating yourself up about it, Trinity."

She didn't listen, and merely turned her head to the side, glowering silently.

"Nobody makes their first jump. I fell, Morpheus fell. _Everyone _falls the first time around."

She was silent until they landed the ship several minutes later. After settling form it's usual rough landing, she carefully sat up form her spot against the back wall, forcing herself to move through still-sore muscles. Doing what she could to disguise the stiffness, she made her way down the ladder, across the main deck and down to her cabin, not looking at anyone.

Both of them watched her retreat. Niobe sighed as she turned back to shut down the flight systems. "She's still pretty sore," she said over her shoulder to the medic. "Get her something for that, will you?

***

Trinity threw her sweater to the floor, not caring where it landed. She discarded of her boots just as carelessly. She sat on the edge of the bed wearily, wondering how a program could possibly cause you so much pain. She had just reached for there light switch, ready to sleep away all her troubles and humiliations, when there was a soft knock on her door.

"...come in." She sat up in her cot when Dozer opened the door quietly.

"Going to bed?"

"Yeah." She noticed he was carrying a small syringe filled with some clear liquid. "What is that?"

He sat beside her on the bed, reaching for her arm and turning it over to reveal the small black plug on her forearm. "Mix of a muscle relaxant and pain killers. Niobe thought it might help you sleep."

Trinity winced slightly as he put the needle through her plug, still unused to the feeling. She felt him turning her arm slightly, examining it. "Have you been exercising?"

"In the mornings, before I come out," she replied, ignoring the tone in his voice.

"You're supposed to do at least two hours a day. And with good reason."

"I'm fine."

"You should be doing as much of that as you can." His tone changed from authoritative medic to the caring big-brother voice he always used with Tank. "Best not to spend every waking moment in your head. You'll feel much better if you don't."

"I spend plenty of time out of sims," she defended.

"Not enough." She turned to see him smiling at her a little. He stood up and opened the door. "Get some sleep, Trinity."

***

There was something about the way he had said it, something in the tone of his voice that made her listen without question. He had spoken to her with the worry he would bestow on a little sister, and it had halted any protests she may have.

It wasn't that she hated the exercises in themselves; he was right, they did make you feel better. It was just that that was a later effect, manifesting itself only after the seemingly endless period of pain and stiffness that followed a routine workout..

She was the last one to the mess hall the next morning. Only Phoenix and Silver were still there. The talked between themselves until Trinity sat down with her bowl of goop.

"More sims today?" Silver stood from the bench and washed off her finished bowl in the sink. Trinity nodded, despite the fact that she couldn't see her.

"I gotta say kid, you're weird." Phoenix was nowhere near to being done. "Most newbies hate sims - avoid 'em like the plague. You must really want to stay here."

"I'll see you two later," Silver said, opening the door and stepping out. "I have things to do."

Phoenix sat straight up in his seat. "What," he whined, "you're just gonna leave me with her?" She smirked at him as she closed the door. He slumped down over the table. When he looked up, Trinity was glaring evilly at him. "Don't look at me like that...." He avoided her eyes. "Like I said, most newbies avoid training like the plague. You're wearing us out." He relaxed when he heard her spork against the metal bowl again.

He left perhaps ten minutes later, telling her he was going to set up the programs. Tank was there when he came up. But just as he was about to tell him to start up the sims, a thought struck him, and he voiced that instead.

"Is the Logos in range?"

***

"Change of plans." He had just switched off one of the many monitors and handed the headset to Tank, moving off to the jacking chairs. "I've got someone else for you to fight."

She heard Tank mumble a quiet "Slacker," as she passed him.

"Not a slacker," Phoenix countered, quickly pressing codes on the touch-screen. "I can get some work done, and just let the newbies beat the shit out of each other."

"Slacker."

"What's going on?" Trinity asked as she lay back in the chair.

It barely registered when he slid the plug into her neck. "Nothing. You're fighting someone from the Logos. He's been out about as long as you. And, much like you, he insists on spending every waking minute training. It'll be a fair fight." He loaded her into the Construct before she could say anything more.

She kept her eyes closed and sighed in frustration, feeling her bare feet touch the matted floor. He just _had_ to be the difficult one, didn't he?

"So you're the over-zealous one."

Her eyes started open at the sarcastic voice, finding another person at the other end of the room. Trinity sauntered closer too him, giving him a brief once-over. He was Asian, but she couldn't pinpoint his nationality specifically. Her age, maybe, which made the goatee seem slightly off on his face.

"You're one to talk."

He quirked a little smile at her tone. They were only feet apart now. "He said you've been sparring everyone on your crew constantly. Apparently you've been annoying the hell out of them." His eyebrow was raised ever so slightly.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" she returned, an edge seeping into her voice.

"Nothing." He held up his hands in mocked defense. "Nothing at all. I was just wondering if all that practice has paid off."

"Immensely." Each held the other's eyes for a long moment, an equal lust for fresh competition in both. He was the first to turn away, moving several paces back. Trinity did the same, and both assumed fighting stances.

Within a minute, she realized just how accustomed she had become to the crew's fighting styles. She had fought them all so much recently that she unknowingly faced each of them in a specific way, not simply reacting to their actions as they came. And it seemed that he, too, had the same problem. Understandably so, living on, she was told, the fleet's smallest ship, and rarely being in range of other ships.

They each moved somewhat awkwardly at first, having to once again familiarize themselves with fighting a new person. Strikes seemed as though they were thrown hesitantly, not recognizing an opening almost before it happened. Counterstrikes were blocked a split-second later than usual.

She jumped clear over him then, willing her mind to remember how to fight someone new. She landed with her back to him, spinning to face him, shifting into a block when she saw his fist headed for her face. A jump was added to the same motion, aiming a kick directly at his face. She let her virtual muscles relax slightly, feeling herself slide back into her familiar style.

It got competitive somewhere along the way. Beyond the usual that was strictly for the sake of training, and into what could almost be called a rivalry. They were slowly raising the bar, each trying to outdo the other's skills and technique. He started it. At least that's how she remembered it. He tried to pull a particularly difficult move on her, one which she almost didn't maneuver away from. Trinity eventually lost track of the time. They might have been in there for hours, for all she knew.

The idea struck her at the end of this unknown span of time. Less of an idea really, as an instinctual impulse that she let run when he gave her the opening. She jumped straight into the air, and time slowed. It was like hovering, almost, until she kicked him squarely in the chest and sent him flying.

"Not bad," he muttered, sitting up slowly and staring at her from across the room. "You're better than I thought you'd be."

"I was studying kung fu before Morpheus unplugged me." He stood when she had walked closer to him. "Trinity," she stated simply, and extended her hand to him. Without hesitation, he took it.

"Ghost."

She gave him a small, reserved smile, and let go. "So. 'Not bad' is all you have to say to me?"

***

It was the most insignificant thing, she knew, simply a result of different captains and different recruits. It wasn't anything personal, Morpheus was just stepping up her training to better hone her raw skills, nothing more. Yes, Ghost had been unplugged the exact same day as she, and _yes_ he had only gone into the jump program for the first time today, a full two weeks after she had. But it shouldn't have bothered her, and it frustrated her to no end that it did.

She tried to tell herself that she was only imagining these things, but it didn't work. She knew the unmerited look of pride he so often gave her, when she had done nothing. The way he told her of a new simulation she was to go through, saying with full confidence that she would manage it without a hitch. Try as she might, Trinity couldn't convince herself that Morpheus wasn't treating her differently than he would any other recruit.

She tugged a loose thread in the bandana she wore, almost used to having no hair to play with instead. She had long ago given up on trying to banish thoughts that simply refused to go away, and simply continued down the hall to her cabin, where she had every intent of getting a decent night's sleep.

"Are you two ever going to take Trinity to see her?" Dozer. He was in a small workroom down the corridor on her right, and the door was open a crack.

"Who? The Oracle?" That was Niobe. There was a brief silence. "We're taking her within the next few days. Just as soon as we can find a safe enough broadcast position."

An _oracle_? In this reality of pure technology, they were taking her to see some fantasy fortune teller?

"What are you so worried about?"

Niobe sighed loudly. "Morpheus thinks she's the One."

"But you don't?"

"You already know the answer to that, Dozer. She's damn talented, I'll be the first to admit it. But you know what I believe, I don't have to tell you again."

"Just out of curiosity, what would you do if she came back and said the Oracle told her she _was_ the One." Trinity was just outside the door now. "Then what?"

"I don't know. But I severely doubt that'll happen, and I'm mostly worried about how Morpheus will react when it doesn't."

He said something quietly. She didn't quite hear, even this close.

"I know, but they weren't like Trinity. She's special. But that's the problem, he thinks she's more special than she really is." For several minutes, the only thing she could hear was the low hum of the engines. "I'm going to bed."

Trinity sipped away and around the corner before the door was opened any further.

***

I get three weeks for break, but I have two sets of aunts/uncles coming in at different times, so I'm hesitant to make any promises.


	11. Prophecy

I think I might start to like year-round schools. Gave me a chance to write this. Actually made it in 2 1/2 weeks. Yay. : ) ...just don't get used to it.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Eleven

Prophecy

***

Her attempts at ignoring a persistent thought only worked half of the time, same as it had always been. Unsurprising, but frustrating as hell.

It was amazing, really, how a few words of an overheard conversation could torment her mind this much. In less than twenty-four hours, she had come up with at least a dozen explanations for it, and among them, of course, was the thought that she may well have dreamt up the entire thing.

Trinity easily flipped over the sword, swung low to the ground in a move that would leave any normal person unable to walk, permanently. It was completely ridicules, she thought as she stopped Ghost's sword with her own. Oracles didn't know the future. Oracles followed intricate rituals, fasted, and went into an underground temple for God only knows how long. They did not speak prophecies. Their notions of the future were illusions, brought on by the high of unhealthy gasses seeping form cracks in the temple floors.

Ghost jerked her back to reality with three successive swings, at eye level, her legs, and up again. She blocked all three.

"Ghost," she said quietly when they both sat with their backs against the wall. "Has anyone on your ship mentioned something about...."

"What?"

She leaned her head back, wondering if she was willing to take the risk of looking like a fool for asking such a question. "I heard Niobe talking last night. Dozer asked her when they were going to take me to see the Oracle." She watched him out of the corner of her eye. "You know anything about that?"

He shook his head slowly. Trinity sighed and twisted her sword on its end, cutting into the simulated matted flooring. "Are you sure you heard right?"

"No." She stood, suddenly restless, twirling her weapon with broad strokes. "But I think that was it." She felt him watching her as she paced back and forth for a minute, recalling the previous night. He didn't flinch when the blade came within inches of his face. "She's worried about Morpheus' reaction to whatever she's supposed to tell me."

"Maybe they were talking about something else." His unwavering and persistent calm - indifference - about almost everything was beginning to get on her nerves.

"Maybe."

***

Distractions, however short, could be found in almost anything. For now, it was the goop that they called breakfast, lunch and dinner. Ironically enough, thinking about it was a very good way to ignore the actual taste of it. A week, they had said, and it became as boring and routine as anything else.

As she swallowed the last spoonful, Dozer opened the heavy metal door to the mess hall and joined the rest of the crew at the table.

"Found a good spot," he commented absently, as if to the wall. "Well up into broadcast depth. Shouldn't take us more than an hour to get there."

Speak of the devil.

"Good." Trinity caught an excited glint in Morpheus' eye before it disappeared. Her cup was half full, and she emptied it in one long drink, watching him carefully.

She forced herself to seem indifferent, that she would ask her question without caring about it's answer. "What are we going up for?"

She saw Niobe eye him cautiously, as if she was warning him of something. He caught the look, but it did not deter him. "We're taking you in, actually." Surprised glances circled between Phoenix, Silver, Apoc and Tank, - she didn't miss them. "We're taking you to see someone."

He said nothing more.

***

She descended the ladder faster than usual, muscles more tense than they normally would be. Trinity was pissed, to say the very least. None of them had said a word about it after Morpheus, and it was quite obvious that she shouldn't be asking in that situation. It didn't help to ease her mind about the next day.

She told herself, repeatedly, that it wasn't anything particularly serious, but blatantly lying to herself never did any good. She hadn't heard much of it, but she had heard enough to know that it was important, likely more so than she realized.

Trinity's room was the last door on the left. Tank's came two doors before that. She stood in the middle of the hall, watching his door as if she expected him to come out. She had made her decision and knocked after a brief moment. When he opened the door, about half-way, and saw her, he seemed surprised.

"Who's the Oracle?" No room was left for an answer. "I heard Niobe talking, I know that's who they're taking me to see. Now who is it?"

Sighing heavily, Tank opened the door wider and sat on his bed, soon joined by Trinity.

"The name pretty much says it." He leaned his head against the wall with a thud. He wasn't sure if he should be telling her this. "She knows just about everything."

"Why am I going to see her?"

He sighed again. "A lot of the people in the Resistance have seen her, and Morpheus takes everyone he frees. She's supposed to tell you what's going to happen. For the most part, she's usually right."

For several minutes, she waited in silence, letting his words sink in. She left his cabin, muttering a quiet "thank you" as she went. Suddenly, she was exhausted, and she pulled off her boots with great weariness. Barely bothering to pull the blanket over herself as she lay down in bed, she was drifting off within seconds.

She barely registered the ship taking off, just before sleep overtook her.

*** 

When it started, the feeling was barely detectable, and only in retrospect would she realize it had been there so early on. It had started when they plugged her in, when it hit her that she was actually going to see a woman who was to tell her the future of her life. But she didn't realize that she was feeling anything unusual until she sat in the back seat of the car, and only after several minutes of silent driving was she able to give it a name. She was nervous. Nervous as hell.

But she didn't know why. Although she hadn't bothered to ask Tank why anyone would be taken to see the Oracle, she didn't much care, or at least that's what she told herself. She didn't believe in fate, destiny, or other such bullshit, so why would it matter to her what this woman would say? Choice was the basis of everything in life, and nothing and no one was about to convince her of anything different.

So why the hell was this eating at her?

Soon enough, Trinity resolved that she wasn't going to come up with an answer any time soon, so she pushed the thought from her mind, willing herself to be distracted by something else. But it didn't matter whether or not she was distracted. Her mind was playing tricks with her again, the same way it had before she first met Morpheus. In part of her mind, everything was rushing by faster than she could comprehend, and in another part, they were moving at a snail's pace. By the time they stepped out of the car and into the run-down apartment building, the only clear thing in her mind was her nervousness. She didn't like the implications of that. Morpheus alone had changed her life so much, and she felt this same way then. So what was this Oracle going to do to her life?

"Are you all right, Trinity?"

She pulled herself reasonably back into reality, eyes snapping up to look at him, noting that she didn't recall walking into the elevator. Staring at her reflections in his glasses, she opened her mouth to speak. Nothing came out. What would she say, anyway? Again frustrated by the fact that he could read her eyes, but she could not do the same, she turned away, staring into the corner of the floor. She was grateful when he didn't press her.

The doors opened, and she followed him silently down the hallway. She nearly ran into him when he stopped, and started when the door the stood before opened on it's own. The woman behind it wore a plain white dress, her black cornrows pulled into a ponytail. She welcomed them inside, commenting on how long it was since she had seen him, how unusually long.

_Okay_. She took several deep, calming breaths. _Focus, Trinity. You're here, let her say her prophecy bit, leave and forget it_. She was ushered into the living room, slowly forcing herself back to reality. She was told to wait here, and it was only then that she realized the oddity of the setting.

An _apartment_. A run-down apartment complex in the suburbs. _This_ was where the Oracle delivered her prophecies? No underground temple, no priests, rituals.... She hadn't known exactly what to expect, but this certainly wasn't it.

There was a strong smell of smoke to the air, and everything in the room looked like leftovers from the sixties. And children, well over a dozen, ranging from young children, to one boy not more than a year younger than Trinity. A few were reading, some watching an old TV. Others were practicing telekinesis - and that didn't surprise her one bit.

She watched three children, none older than ten, had taken a handful of poker chips from somewhere. One held them, and dropped them in the center of the three. They spun in a ring once they had fallen a few inches. Then they started spinning them in intricate patterns for several long minutes.

"She'll see you now." Pulling her out of her reverie, the woman ushered her down the hall. She stood where she was, gathering her nerves as she glanced back to the other children. None of them seemed worried.

_You're being ridiculous, Trinity_. She steeled herself and continued, ducking under a beaded curtain, as she entered the kitchen. This, too, was like everything else in the apartment - straight out of the sixties.

"Now was I right, or was I right?"

She froze. Elderly black woman, short hair, and looked like someone's grandmother. She knew this woman. Forcing her lips to move, she uttered a shocked, "You're the Oracle?"

"The One and Only." She wasn't looking at Trinity, and instead pulled a coffee mug from a cabinet. For her part, Trinity's mind was filled with too many questions for her mouth to keep up. She remained where she was, unmoving. "You wanna sit? There's a table just behind you."

She took the advice, and ran one hand slowly through her short hair. There was a loud whistle from a teakettle and she watched absently as the Oracle poured the steaming water into the mug and added coffee.

"You like yours black, right?"

Nodding slightly, she found herself reminded of Switch, and missing her more than usual. She took a small sip of the coffee. She wasn't a dependent person by any means, and could easily fare on her own. But, more and more, Trinity was beginning to realize just how much better life was with a best friend.

"Oh, now." The Oracle leaned against the end of the counter closest to the table, arms crossed. "Don't worry about her. She's just fine, you'll see her soon enough."

She stared down into her drink as if everything would make sense if she watched it's surface long enough. After a seemingly endless silence, she spoke, if only in a whisper. "Why did you do that?" Placing the mug on the table, she raised her eyes to the woman. "Why did you tell me about him?"

Shrug. "Not such a huge secret. You're a good hacker, good fighter. Good addition to the resistance."

"But _why me_?" Confusion and inability to understand the situation made the words harsher than she had intended. "There's got to be plenty of other people who could have done the same thing."

"Oh, not quite." She smiled reassuringly. "Everybody's got something to do in life, some of it has to do with ending the war. And certain people just need a push in the right direction to get them there." Trinity looked away, hardly comfortable with such close scrutiny from someone who knew more about her than she cared to imagine. "That's how it is. One time in your life ends, another begins. Death and rebirth. That's why I told you about Morpheus."

She risked a glance at the Oracle, trying not to seem as unsettled as she really was, ridiculing herself for how difficult that was. There was a knowing look in her eyes, and she turned away to tend to a small pile of dirty dishes in the sink. Trinity felt oddly relieved that she was no longer the center of attention.

A baking pan, likely used for brownies, was the first thing she picked to clean. "He didn't tell you about the One, did he?"

"He... I've heard them talk about it a little. But I haven't figured out very much, other than that it's supposed to be the only person who can end the war."

The pan was left to soak in the sink, and the Oracle dried her hands on her apron. The look she gave Trinity was intent and serious, waiting. Waiting... for what? What was she supposed to know? The One was supposed to end the war, and....

... and compared to what the others had told her about their own training, Morpheus was pushing her to move faster. She had been taken into her first fight unusually early, the same with the jump program. The unmerited looks of pride he constantly gave her... oh, God....

"Morpheus thinks I'm the One," she whispered, the realization hitting her like a brick.

"Bingo."

Trinity fell against the back of the chair, unspeakable stress and pressure washing over her instantly. "I'm the One...?"

"No, you're not. You don't have to worry about that."

Why, oh _why_ was it that every time one thing started making sense, ten others stopped?

"So... why would he think that? Why would he even think that _he_ would be the person to find the One?" She felt a headache coming on. The freest of the free minds could not overcome this one.

The Oracle shrugged, and said as though it were nothing, "That's what I told him. He _will_ find the One, so when he found you, its understandable why he would think he had succeeded."

Knowing that somehow made her angry. She couldn't say why - he thougth something, and was wrong. It wasn't a crime. But still, she found herself barely able to contain the anger that fact brought about. "That's ridiculous - he shouldn't be so confident based off of just that! I mean, Jesus Christ, _anyone_ could be the One!" She was out of the chair now, pacing in frustration.

The Oracle, however, was unaffected by Trinity's temper, and remained passive and kindly smiling. "Oh..." Her tone made Trinity look up at her, even if it did not cease her pacing. "Not quite anyone." That stopped her.

A long silence. "What do you mean?"

She pulled a plate from the pile and began cleaning it. The smile she wore was one Trinity had begun to loath. It spoke volumes about how much she knew that you wish she didn't - how much she knew that you were far from realizing about yourself. "You've never been a huge fan of love, have you?"

Regardless of how much more pissed of she was at the subject change, she complied, crossing her arms, fists clenched. "No."

"Humor an old woman, will you? Why exactly is that?"

"Not that it's any of your business." Slowly, she resumed her place in the chair, taking a drink of the lukewarm coffee. "But I don't have some huge hole in my life that needs to be filled by someone else, I'm fine on my own. I certainly don't need to be tied down like that." Her eyebrows furrowed at yet another smile. _And I certainly don't need you treating me like some naive child_.

She sat back in her seat, telling herself to calm down. Anger wouldn't help her here.

"That's what love is to you?" She dried the plate with a hand towel, looking over her shoulder to Trinity, who stared her squarely in the eye, an obvious yes. That plate was set on the counter, and she pulled out another to clean. "Well I do hope you'll get over those notions. Unrequited love is not the kind of thing I think you'd enjoy."

If ever anything could catch her attention. "Excuse me? Unrequited love for whom?"

"The One."

Neither spoke, quite literally, for several minutes. The Oracle formed a small pile of clean dishes. Trinity let her own prophecy sink in.

"Pretending for a minute that I would ever fall in love with someone I had never met, how the hell is that going to help the war?"

She abandoned the dishes, for the time. She took the mug with it's now cold coffee, which she poured down the sink. "He may be the One, but believe me, he's as human as everybody else. And everybody else needs someone to turn to now and then. Savior or not, he's only human." The mug, now containing fresh coffee, was replaced.

She swallowed away the lump that had formed in her throat, and reminded herself to stay calm about this. "So I'm supposed to just fall head-over-heels for some random person and give up everything I've worked so hard to get? And then be expected to live happily ever after?" Trinity halted all other protests when she saw the look on the Oracle's face. She no longer sported a smile that only served to complete the grandmother image. Instead, she had become solemn, looking at something beyond the glass of the window above the sink. "What?"

"Happily ever after is highly overrated."

"... what's that supposed to mean?" Trinity's stomach sank.

"It's not an easy thing to hear."

"What did you mean? Tell me."

"When you tell him that you love him, he will die."

She felt nothing. She didn't know what to feel. Angry at having no control over what was to happen to her? Sadness that, once she would supposedly find love, she would loose it? Anger for the same reason? If only she could snap out of this as easily as the Oracle could. The Oracle, who was back to her cheerful demeanor.

"But, so far as the rest of it goes, the only thing you're _supposed_ to do is make up your own damn mind." She smirked, in a fashion very much like Trinity's. "You're own decision to believe what I have to say or not. I'm not here to make any choices for you, you're on your own there. Whether or not you have enough faith in yourself and everyone else to make those choices is entirely up to you."

And still, nothing. She could do nothing more than return the Oracle's smiling face with a perfectly blank one.

"Oh, now, don't look like that. Come on." She gestured her to get up. "You'll be fine, you know that. You go on and finish that coffee on the way downstairs. Just leave the mug by the front door." She walked with her to the end of the hallway, patting Trinity on the back when they reached the living room. "Nothin' to worry about, kiddo."

***

Morpheus said it was normal. Niobe said it happened almost every time. Everything the Oracle said was either a huge weight to bear, or too cryptic to understand. A lot of the time, it was both. She would keep to herself for tonight, and by tomorrow, she would be back to normal.

But still, Tank was worried. It had only been mid-morning when they returned from the visit with the Oracle, and since Trinity left the core, she had not been seen. He had unplugged her, she sat up, staring at nothing and no one. And a moment later she left, seeming not to realize that there were other people there.

After nearly a half hour in the mess hall with no sign of her, he finally decided to bring her diner. After all, she hadn't had anything since breakfast this morning.

He knocked twice, but there was no answer either time. Thinking she was asleep, he turned the rusty handle as slowly and quietly as he could, only to find her awake inside.

"Hey, Trinity." Leaving the tray on her desk, he waited a moment. She lay on her bed facing the wall, her blanket bundled over her feet to keep them warm. "Are you okay?"

Silence. He waited a few seconds more, but was only granted more of it. He took the hint, and left without a word.

***

Her headache had turned into a full-blown migraine. It had taken a while, but everything had eventually begun to sink in, enough for her to process it.

First, it was the worry that it would all come true. That the Oracle wasn't wrong, and things would play out exactly like she said they would. But her rational side proclaimed itself immediately, reminding Trinity that fate, destiny, whatever it was called, was complete and utter bullshit. It was nothing more than an excuse selfish people used to disclaim all responsibility for their actions. It was a way to explain away some problem, be it big or small, when you could not understand it. She was neither.

She had always chosen what happened to her - she wasn't about to fall in love on command. If - _if_ - she ever did fall in love, it would be with the person of her choosing, be it the One or not.

But there still remained a tiny, persistent voice in her mind, pulling up her first encounter with the Oracle. She had said things then, too. They had come true.

So what was to say that this wouldn't?

***

Not as long as I intended, but oh well. Might add on to the end later. Oh, and writing Oracle/Trinity dialogue is hell.


	12. Agents

I don't have an excuse this time, except one of the scenes was hell to write, and my Muse jetted off to Hawaii without telling me again. And one more thing: You people need to _chill out_ about Switch. I haven't forgotten about her, and she will play a very major role in my master plan. So don't worry, she'll show up in a few chapters.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Twelve

Agents

***

On the bright side, the incident had taught him something: _never_ fight Trinity on someone else's request without finding out _why_. He found out the hard way that it would only leave him with many bruises on his real world body, and a soreness he could not banish, even within the Construct.

She had finally finished him off, jumping straight up kicking him squarely in the chest with an eagle-like maneuver. Now, Ghost slumped against the wall with a quiet groan, Trinity so restless that she only paced back and forth in front of him.

"So I'm your designated personal punching bag now?" He barely noticed when the corner of her mouth pulled up the slightest bit. He waited, but beyond that, she made no response. His eyebrows drew together in worry. "Are you okay?" She slowed... "Do you want to tell me what happened?" ...and sat beside him.

"I found out who the Oracle is," she began. "She... knows pretty much everything... about everything."

Ghost waited, not pressing her to speak any faster. He could tell that she hadn't figured it all out yet, and telling him before she had would only make it worse. So he sat patiently against the wall, watching her features carefully.

"And when you go to see her, she tells you what's going to happen in your life. Supposedly."

A long silence stretched out before them, Ghost measuring her words. He broke the stillness a while later. "You don't think she's telling you the truth?"

She was pacing again. "I don't think anyone has the right to tell me what's going to happen in my life before it actually does."

"So what's the matter, then?"

Trinity had reached the end of the dojo, and found herself standing before the rack of swords. Fingering one's intricate carving, she debated with herself about how much she really wanted to tell him. Finally making up her mind, she pulled the sword from it's sheath and said with a sigh, "This isn't the first time I've met her." Swinging the sword deftly from hand to hand, she steeled herself and jumped right in. "Little over a year ago, I was in Central Park, and out of nowhere she comes and sits down next to me and starts feeding the birds." She sighed angrily, spinning the sword a bit more fiercely.

"What happened?"

"She's the one who told me about Morpheus in the first place. I didn't know what the Matrix was at the time. Bottom line is, I didn't have the faintest idea what she was talking about, and she told me that I would in a year. And here I am."

She leaned one shoulder against a wooden pillar, running her finger through her hair in frustration, in anger for acting this way. Anger that she war so openly displaying one of her more detested weaknesses. Anger that she was not listening to her own logic and disregarding the Oracle's words, and anger because it was that same logic that made her believe them.

"What did she say this time?"

Heavy sigh. "She told me -" But she when she looked to him, she froze. In the back of her mind, she was telling herself that she was being absurd. She may not have known him more than a few weeks, but she knew that she could trust him. He wouldn't laugh at her, wouldn't look down on her, wouldn't repeat her words to anyone else. And yet, somehow....

Trinity shook her head, and turned away. "Nothing. It's nothing important."

***

Trinity made her way into the Core silently, and seated herself in one of the jacking chairs across from the operator's chair and Tank. It snapped him out of a daze - he seemed to be sleeping with his eyes open. He blinked several times, and glanced at the screen.

"You don't have to be out here for another fifteen minutes."

"I know," she replied. "But I woke up before my alarm went off and I couldn't get back to sleep." She leaned back and pretended for a moment that she was sitting in an old recliner. "Four and a half months and I still can't get used to two a.m. watch shifts."

He smiled sleepily. "Yeah, it takes a while to get used to it. Unfortunately, the only good chance you'll get to catch up on sleep is in Zion."

"When are we docking anyway?"

His brow furrowed in concentration, trying to remember accurately. "I think it's supposed to be in a week or two. That's what Morpheus said this morning."

"'Bout time," she muttered gratefully.

"Getting sick of the place?"

"Hell yes. I never was one to stay in the same place too long." She sat up and faced him. "Out of curiosity, how long do ships usually stay out?"

"Batteries last about six months if they're fully charged, but they usually head back to recharge long before that. There's not really any set time frame for how long they stay out, it just depends on what the captains want to get done and when."

"Six months, huh?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

Tank tried to grin through a yawn. "Not the twentieth century anymore, Trin. Technology has improved since then."

There was a long pause, and Trinity fought to keep a slightly pained look off of her face. "Don't call me Trin."

She was immensely thankful when he didn't ask her why.

"Listen," he said several minutes later. "First time a new recruit gets to Zion, they get issued a room in the military quarter. They're hell if you've never lived on your own before, or if you don't know your way around the city yet. If you want, you can stay with my family for a while."

Trinity stared at him with a mix of shock and gratitude on her face.

"Just until you get a feel for the place."

"Sure.... Thanks." She gave him one of her rare, true smiles. "What are they like? Your family?"

"Well, other than Dozer, it's his wife, my mom and dad, and my sister. They're all pretty nice. Except my sister loves to pick on me."

Trinity snorted at the way he said it. "She's your sister, she's obligated. Little thing we like to call 'sibling rivalry'."

Just then, a quiet alarm sounded from the console. Trinity automatically rose from the jacking chair and moved to stand beside Tank. "Go get some sleep. You need it."

He stood from his seat, barely awake, and she took his place to start her shift. She had curled her legs up into the chair, and he was almost out of the Core when a thought suddenly occurred to him. "Oh, um," he rubbed his eyes, forcing himself to remember the details accurately. "Morpheus is taking you into the Matrix in a few days."

Trinity spun in her seat, staring at him wide-eyed. It took her a moment to remember how to speak. "What?"

"Yeah. He just wants to give you a feel of how things work before we head back."

"... are you serious?"

"It surprises you that much? Yes," he said finally, turning away again, "I'm serious. G'night."

Her eyes followed him as he descended the ladder without another word, and she found herself stunned into silence.

***

After two days, she had started to wonder if Tank had spoken the truth, or if he had merely imagined it in his half-conscious state. But the previous night proved that idea wrong, when she found herself alone with Morpheus in the mess hall. She had barely been able to fall asleep that night, but eventually convinced herself that she would need the sleep.

Her excitement grew all through the morning, though she couldn't quite say why. Maybe it was just that she was finally going to start taking an active role in the war, or maybe she had been training for too long with no real way to use her new skills. She didn't know.

She spent the entire morning damping down any signs of her anticipation, but after several hours she had become more than a little flustered. She had been assigned to fix a wiring problem in the cockpit, and she was barely able to control her fingers enough to do it properly.

"Trinity." She jumped a little and found Morpheus standing in the doorway. "We're going in now." She hurriedly reconnected the last wire and closed the cover in the wall., She had descended the ladder into the Core an instant later, and Morpheus ushered her towards the chairs. Tank was waiting to plug her in, and snickered at how quickly she sat down.

"Somebody's excited." She glared briefly before her eyes closed and reopened to the white expanse that was the Construct, waiting for Morpheus. Waiting, and waiting.

And waiting.

She stared up above her head, where the sky should be, as if she expected him to fall from it. Instead, she was startled by a ringing phone in her pocket, which she answered on the second ring.

"Morpheus is gonna be a while. He has to talk to the captain of another ship."

"What about?"

"Captain stuff, I don't know exactly." Oddly, he seemed not to care, either. "Something got relayed from Zion or something. Anyway, I'm supposed to send you in ahead, and Morpheus'll be there in a few minutes."

Trinity stood in silence. Send her in? "By myself?"

"Yeah, don't worry. Pretty low traffic area for Agents. They don't watch it very closely."

"Are you sure?" Something wasn't right.

"Positive. Now, what kind of motorcycle did you have?"

"Triumph," she muttered automatically. "Speed Triple, black." She blinked and found herself in a back alley, the bike leaned against a dumpster.

"You go out the alley and left, you'll hit a park about five blocks down. Morpheus wants you to wait there." _Click_.

Trinity stared blankly at the phone. Something was wrong. He was being too nonchalant, too vague for her comfort. Too... careless. Like he was hiding something, and poorly at that. But there was nothing she could do, really, no way of calling him on it without being denied if she had no idea what was going on. And, she told herself, whatever it was, it was probably nothing she really needed to worry about.

She tucked the phone back into her coat pocket, and pulled out of the alley on the Triumph.

The street ran right through the lush, well grown park, where she parked on the side of the road. She could swear that it was a part of Central Park, that she had seen those exact tables before, that very walkway leading deeper into the park, that same restaurant across the street. But she could see none of the landmark buildings she knew so well, and resigned to wondering where she might be that this would look so similar to New York.

She quickly grew impatient, trying to bide her time watching everyone who went by. There was no one out of the ordinary - men and women in well-tailored business suits, carrying heavy briefcases or coffees-to-go. A few people in simple blue jeans, enjoying a day off. Parents with their children, a few teenagers here and there. All of them perfectly normal, not a thing out of place. _Too_ normal, almost. The more people passed by on the sidewalk, the more Trinity saw a certain uniformity to them, in their clothes, postures, and - the closer she looked - in their too-plain, unsmiling faces. As if - hadn't she see that woman walk by a minute ago?

Her attention snapped away from the passing crowd at a sharp ring. It rang once more before she reached into her pocket and answered the phone. _About time_.

"Took you long enough -"

"Not about that Trinity, you have to get out of there."

She froze, all of her senses automatically going into overdrive. "What?"

"There's Agents after you -"

"I thought you said -"

"I _know_ what I said Trinity, but they know you're there, and you have to get out," he rushed. "You can't get out from the same hardline, they've cut it, you have to get to another one."

"Where is it?" She swung a leg over the bike, turning the key in the igniter.

"Go straight down the street until you get to Priest, then left until Canyon, and right until Newport, it's in an abandoned apartment building there. Got it?"

"Left at Priest, right at Washington to Newport." She pushed the kickstand up with her heel.

"I'll call you when you get there." She hung up, and sped off.

She deftly wove between cars, changing lanes only as quickly as she thought she could without drawing much attention. She narrowly avoided one red light, then another before she saw the first turn in the distance. Again she increased her speed, praying that she would make it. _Stay green, stay green_... yellow... _not yet_... and just as she cleared the light, she heard a bullet whiz past her ear.

"Shit!"

Trinity raced forward, not caring if anyone noticed, as she had already been spotted. The briefest of glances showed her three agents in an old pickup, speeding after her, drawing numerous honks, screeches, and minor crashes from cars trying to get out of its path. One eye was kept on her mirror, enough to tell her that they were gaining. Fast. On impulse, praying that she wasn't doing something stupid, she sped two lanes to the right and down a small side street, making a car screech to a halt, being rear-ended by the one behind it. Down the center lane of that road, and left on the first cross-street, and right at the next. She didn't look back to see if she was being followed - her only goal right now was to get away. She turned one more left, slowing slightly until the signs above the intersection read _Washington_.

_Don't go so fast_, she told herself as she turned down the street. _If no one sees anything unusual, they won't know you're here_. She glanced at her mirrors several times within only a few blocks, more than a little nervous. But sure enough, there, behind several small shops, was her salvation - four abandoned apartment buildings. She sped the rest of the way to an alleyway, stopping the bike well inside. She had pulled her phone out and answered almost before it had rung, running down the alley.

"Okay - it's the building farthest from where you are, room 214. I uploaded you some guns in the Construct -" Trinity unconsciously reached to her side, and indeed felt several guns she had not noticed before, "- and extra magazines. Go around - get down!"

On instinct she ducked behind a dumpster, another bullet whizzing past just as a gunshot sounded through the air. Instead of her, it hit a brick wall farther down the alley, shattering off countless pieces. Everything else suddenly gone from her mind, she pulled a gun from the back of her belt and leapt from behind the dumpster. Before the Agent could raise his gun to shoot her again, she had fired several shots at him. She fled down a side alley as he was busy dodging the bullets.

_Farthest from where you are_. The building farthest from where she had been. She had passed the first building, across from the Hardline. So this one would be directly next o it.

Kicking off of a bile of unused bricks, Trinity vaulted over the alley wall to the back of the old apartments. She swiftly kicked open the first door she came to, still running when she got inside. Silently she prayed that Morpheus had been right in telling her that she would be safest indoors - that buildings had enough twists and turns to elude an Agent. Further down the hall, she came to what was once the lobby, stairs at one end, and all three upper levels opening down to the round floor. She stopped for just a moment, planning, before she ran and jumped again, this time flipping over the railing of the third level. From there it was down the nearest hall, stopping only when she reached the end and had hidden around a corner.

_Okay, Trinity_, she told herself, _stay calm, don't panic_. Her breathing was heavier, she noted as she examined the situation, even though she knew none of it was real. _Okay_. T-shaped hallway, mirror hanging on the wall, while she hid around the left corner. Three Agents, spread out God knows where, the exit in the next building. Both ends of the hall - clear.

The mirror showed most of the hall she had run down, clear from what she could see. She looked briefly around the corner, to be sure. Instantly, she regretted it, and was already running when bullets shattered the glass of the mirror. Down the hallway, through an open door on the right, out the window on to the fire escape. Ascending the ladders and ducking behind an AC unit, she suddenly found herself grateful for so many years of experience with fire escapes.

_Okay, to that building, find the room and get out_. Reloading her gun with surprisingly calm fingers, knowing full well that the Agent was right behind her, she ran blindly towards the next roof.

Almost before her feet made contact with the roof, Trinity turned, just in time to see the Agent jump across the gap. With inhumanly fast reflexes she fired three quick shots. One missed... one hit his right shoulder... and - thank God - the last lodged itself in his stomach. She barely caught a glimpse of him morphing back to the host body before another Agent climbed up from the fire escape, and sent her running again.

Inside the stairwell, she took the steps four and fie at a time, then by sixes when she heard the door at the top open. Several bullets rebounded off the walls and railing, though she barely felt the one that grazed her left shoulder. She cleared the last flight of stairs in one leap, and, finding it to be locked, sent the second story door nearly flying off it's hinges with a well-aimed kick. On the wall just inside the hallway, it listed apartment numbers - 200 to 206 on the right, 207 to 215 on the left. She dashed down the left hall and around the corner, glancing over her shoulder every few yards.

Further down, the hallway split, going to the left, and continuing straight. Despite the fact that she knew there was an Agent not very far behind her, something made her stop at the corner and check the left hall. _Shit_. The third Agent. She couldn't go forward - she'd be seen - and she couldn't stay there - the other was closely following her. _Something, anything_, she thought, glancing over her shoulder once again, _happen_. Then, just as she peeked around the corner again, the Agent looked into an open apartment, looking for her, and she ran.

The phone. She could hear the phone now, faintly, through the door of the last apartment. Just a little farther....

She nearly lost her balance when even more bullets whizzed past her, both Agents now chasing her. One grazed her hip, painfully, but a graze nonetheless. She turned the fall into a tumble and pressed herself up against the wall opposite the door of 214. She ran straight into the door, forcing it open with her uninjured shoulder, and saw the ringing phone - salvation - on a little table beneath a window. She had it pressed to her ear in an instant, and just saw the Agent run to the door, before there was only blackness.

***

Her eyes snapped wide open the instant she felt herself return to the real world. A bright light hung above her head, but in her terror, she didn't think to close her eyes against it. She quickly glanced around, just to reassure herself that she was safe. Only hen did she close her eyes tightly, trying into block out everything. She pulled her hands form the armrests to cover her face, and found them to be clenched so tightly against the fabric that moving them sent pains through her forearms.

She lay back in the chair for several long minutes, berthing hard as she waited for the adrenaline to wear out of her system Finally, she forced herself to sit forward, but she kept her face in her hands, resting her elbows on her knees. She flinched when Morpheus put comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?"

Trinity nodded once, slowly. She finally put her hands down, laying her arms across her knees. The adrenaline was fading quickly, and sit left her exhausted. Her eyes moved to each person in the room, a frown growing deeper and deeper with each grinning face. "What?" The grins grew wider.

"Trinity." Morpheus, still standing beside her, was smiling more than anyone. "So you remember the test I told you about, to stay on the ship?" She nodded, ot understanding his implications in her state. "You just passed it."

There followed a long, dead silence. Trinity's eyes remained downcast, focused on a small hole in the knee of her pants. She did not notice when the grins of the rest of the crew quickly disappeared.

"_What_?"

He was obviously too proud at that moment to notice her tone. "With flying colors, I might add."

She slowly lifted her head to meet his eyes, rage quickly burning stronger and stronger in them. "A _test_?"" she hissed, fighting to control herself. "As in it wasn't real?"

"No, it wasn't, you don't have to -" She bolted from her chair before he could finish, making eye contact with non on as she stormed towards the ladder to the lower deck. She heard Morpheus and a few others running to catch her, unsurprisingly. "Trinity -" He put a hand on her shoulder when he caught up, trying to make her stop.

She shouldn't' have done it; some part of her knew that even as she did. And under any other circumstances, she would have had the self control not to. But not now, not after she had narrowly avoided what she though was certain death. Now, her self control was worth nothing, and when he touched her shoulder, she spun around with lightning speed to deliver a high kick, aimed straight for his chest.

He just barely moved in time, and her kick only sent him back a few feet more. For a long moment, she looked him squarely in the eye with a lethal glare, and finally descended to the lower deck.

***

Her legs had cramped a good two hours earlier., and her arms had to have been stiff for three. She'd been in her cabin since they pulled her out of the simulation, sitting in various positions on her bed. For now, her back rested uncomfortably against the wall at the foot of her bed, next to the door. Her arms were crossed over her chest, legs bend with her heels digging into the mattress.

She had been there all afternoon, sitting and wallowing in her anger - not sleeping as she thought she would be after the adrenaline fall-off, or working through her anger, or even ignoring it to do something productive. She just sat thinking only of what had happened, over and over, moving neither forwards nor backwards in her thoughts. Nor did she make a sound when someone knocked softly on the door.

Trinity closed her eyes, not wanting to speak to anyone. Still, the door opened as silently as possible, and Tank's careful footsteps entered. He must have been trying to tell if she was asleep, she reasoned.

"You've known about it all along."

He sighed heavily and flopped carelessly into the desk chair. "Yeah." Her already sore jaw clenched tighter. "Look, Trinity..." She glared at him expectantly, barely raising her head. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my idea - personally, I think it's ridiculous. If I had it my way... it'd be different." She stopped glaring and closed her eyes again, and he ran one tired hand over his head. "But I don't get to call the shots, and that's just how they do this."

"And why the hell is that Tank?" she hissed viciously, more so than she'd intended.

He opened and closed his mouth several times, wringing his hands, before mumbling, "Morpheus could probably explain it better."

She shook her head angrily, staring at a spot on the wall beside her. Then - speak of the Devil - a knock on the frame of the open door.

"Tank, could I speak with Trinity for a moment, alone?" Tank left without a word, closing the door behind him, and Morpheus took his place, jumping right in. "Trinity -"

"Don't even start."

"Trinity," he repeated, more forcefully. "I'm sorry about what happened. But that's how the test has always been done, it's the best way -"

"How the fuck is almost killing me the best way to test me?" she snapped, as usual not caring than he was her superior officer.

She could tell when he sighed that he was trying to stay calm. "If you know it isn't real, you'll act differently. This way, we can see a genuine reaction to pressure and stress." He barely heard a low growl come from her throat. "And the program would have stopped before you were seriously injured, you were never in any real danger."

Trinity let out a long, low breath and stood from the bed, much more calm than she seemed. With one hand, she pulled up her shirt, and hooked the other in the waist of her pants, revealing a large, dark, fresh bruise that had formed on her left hip. "Real fucking harmless, Morpheus." She sat back again sat the wall, legs crossed this time, leaving her arms at her sides.

"Trinity -"

"No, you know what? Just..." She shook her head, not wanting to deal with this at all. "Just leave."

And finally, he did.

***

Again, sorry for the wait. A lot of it was the chase sequence. It gave me a really hard time. If you don't mind, I'd like some honest opinions of it, because I don't think it was that good. And if you can think of any good examples of action fics that I could read, I'd love to know about them. Oracle cookies for anyone who can show me a good one.


	13. Zion

My excuses are long, but let me just say that they mostly revolve around the fact that one of the cats I've had for thirteen years, my _child_, got cancer and was put to sleep after much misery.

***

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Thirteen

Zion

***

Dozer stopped short when he entered the mess hall, not having expected anyone else to be there at that hour. "Well," he muttered quietly, leaning over the table beside Tank, "glad to see that you're speaking to us again."

"Tentatively," Trinity said shortly.

She took a little sip of her water, and Dozer smiled. "So what are you two talking about?" he asked, pulling a bowl from one of the cupboards.

"My test." She smirked when she saw the look on his face. "Hence the 'tentatively' part. Listen, maybe you can answer me this - how well do most people do on it, anyway?"

He sat on the end of the table and ate a few bites of his dinner before answering. "Not as well as you, that's for sure. But then, they don't normally spend their every waking moment for four months training." Trinity glared at him slightly out of the corner of her eye, but playfully. "Only about a fourth of the people who are tested pass, and not everyone is. Sometimes the captains send them straight to Zion."

"How do they tell if you pass or not, anyway?" She absently twirled her used spork between her fingers, leaving the question open for whichever of the brothers wanted to answer.

"It just depends," Tank offered. "They judge you on all kinds of stuff."

"They? Not just Morpheus?"

He shook his head a little, leaning back a ways. "No. We recorded everything you did, and we have to show it to the military officials in Zion. They make the final decision."  
_Not again_. A little anger crept into Trinity's eyes. "So, technically, I haven't passed yet?"

"Well, officially -"

"Don't worry," Dozer cut in, seeing where she was going. "You'll pass. There's two givens in judging the tests. You get a fatal wound, you automatically fail. You kill an Agent, you almost always pass. Unless, of course, you get a fatal wound after that."

"... You sure?"

"Positive." He set his dinner to the side for the moment. "Other than that, though, they judge you on your speed, agility, how well you avoid an Agent, how creative you are in avoiding them. Other stuff, like how well you can shoot, sometimes on your fighting. Just basic skills. And for you, we also tested your motorcycle skills."

Trinity smirked. "I still don't see why they have to do it like that," she murmured.

"'Cause they can see your honest reactions that way." Tank watched her carefully, frowning a little. "C'mon, it can't be that bad."

"It was terrifying!" she blurted before she could measure her response. "I seriously thought I was going to die. I still don't know how I passed - I was just looking for the first good opportunity to get out, and praying it didn't backfire." Suddenly feeling restless, she stood form the table, taking both her own mug and Tank's to the sink, even though both were half-full. She emptied neither, and simply set them on the counter

"Don't worry about it." Dozer spoke calmly, not looking up as he finished off the last of his 'food.' "You'll stop being so scared eventually, or at least you'll learn to work through it. As for taking the first opportunity you can find, that's normal. You won't really have time to think through an entire plan in a real fight. You just have to go on instinct."

She leaned against the counter with a sigh, and ran one hand through her short hair. She reached around to the cups on the counter. She took a large gulp from her cup - and immediately spat it into the sink, coughing violently. Behind her, Tank and Dozer grimaced simultaneously.

"Tank, wh-" she coughed again, taking a sip from her _real_ cup, "what the hell were you drinking?"

"Uh, well -" he stammered.

"Shit, Tank, it tastes like engine degreaser!"

"Well..." he scratched his head, nervously averting his eyes. "That's because it is."

She gaped at him over her shoulder. "You _drink_ engine degreaser?"

"Well, technically, it's alcohol, but it works really well for degreasing engines, so...."

"Jesus, Tank."

"Hey." He quickly raised his hands in defense and pointed at Dozer. "He makes it, not me."

She wiped her mouth on her sleeve and glared slightly before she stopped, listening intently. "Is that the engines?" She grabbed the edge of the counter to steady herself as the ship jolted slightly and began to move.

"Hey." The door opened wider, and Apoc stuck his head in. "There you are."

"What's going on?"

"Morpheus and Niobe found a clear route back to Zion. We're going home early. Better start packing."

***

It hadn't taken more than twenty minutes for Trinity to pack all of her things. That left her with nearly three hours to sleep, but she was barely able to use it. After perhaps an hour of restlessness, she fell into a light slumber, but woke at the slightest jolt of the ship. After waking perhaps a dozen times, she finally gave up, and dragged herself up to the cockpit.

She sank down against the wall behind Niobe's pilot chair, briefly locking eyes with Morpheus when he noticed her presence. "You should be sleeping."

"Took me forever to fall asleep. Then I kept waking up."

Niobe shook her head and laughed a little. "You know, you probably get insomnia more than anyone else in the fleet." It got Trinity to grin a little, though Niobe didn't see it.

"You should still try to get some sleep. It'll be the middle of the night when we get there. There's going to be a lot to do before you'll be able to get any sleep."

"I'll risk it."

***

No one had told her what Zion was like, not beyond a few minor details. A quarter million people, a Council of twelve running the place, and it only _looked_ third-world. But other than that, she really had no idea what it was like.

She had a loose picture in her mind, but it was based off of every sci-fi and post apocalyptic movie she had ever seen - not off of what anyone in reality had told her, and certainly not from anything she had actually _seen_. All she could picture was something along the lines of layers upon layers of long, low caverns, with catacomb rooms carved from the rock. Simple, maybe, but what else could you build in a reality such as this?

She jumped suddenly, startled from her doze as a loud buzzer on the front console sounded. She panicked for a moment, thinking it was the sentinel alarm until Niobe put on a headset and entered in a quick command on a nearby computer.

"This is the Nebuchadnezzar, requesting access through gate two."

Trinity scrambled to the front of the cockpit, holding on to the back of the chairs for balance. They were both staring at something straight ahead, but all she could see was more of the black tunnel. There was a quiet murmur from Niobe's earpiece, and suddenly she found herself squinting against a too-bright thread of light that appeared at the far end of the tunnel. _Zion_, she realized. They were going into Zion. She straightened up immediately, willing her eyes to adjust to the widening beam of light.

When they finally made it past the massive gate, she leaned closer to the windshield for a better look. A half-dozen or so other gates, each with a bridge connecting it to what she assumed was the command station. Taking another step and leaning closer still to the window, she could ee ships docked below the bridges, and -

"Trinity," Morpheus laughed, gently pushing her back, away from the window.

Niobe carefully piloted the ship farther into the dock, and down to one of the empty landing bays. "Go get your stuff," she instructed, powering down the ship. After a long moment of being rooted in her place, Trinity was able to process the words, and bounded down to the lower deck.

***

"Ow!" Tank yelped as his shoulder was roughly slammed into the wall. He dragged himself from his position face first in the pillow to see who had woken him so carelessly.

"Get up!" Trinity thrust his boots into his stomach, drawing another, quieter protest. "We're in Zion."

He groaned as she left, sitting up to drag the old boots onto his feet. The loud creak of her door opening, and closing a moment later drifted into his room. She stopped outside of his door again, while Morpheus and Niobe passed by in the hall.

"Hurry up."

"Oh, take it easy, the city's not going anywhere." He finished tying one boot, and started on the other, a bit more quickly.

She crossed her arms impatience. "I thought you were a morning person, Tank."

"This is _not_ morning," he grumbled. "This is the _middle_ of the _night_!" He grabbed his bag and followed her out, muttering all the way.

"Okay, Trinity." She and Tank stopped, letting Niobe and the rest of them catch up. "I'll take you to get registered so we can get you a room."

"She's staying with my family," Tank muttered, leaning against the wall with closed eyes.

Niobe frowned a little, flipping a few switches on a nearby control panel. "Are you sure your parents won't mind?"

"Positive." He jumped a little as the wall behind him moved, and stood straight. "They said they miss having people around anyway, since Zee moved out." He looked a bit grumpier then. "Don't know _why_ they would miss her, though, she's completely - OW!"

Trinity briefly glanced away from the opening port to see Tank rubbing the back of his head and glaring at Dozer. "What the hell was that for?"

He shook his head a little. "She's your _sister_. That's the kind of thing that got you grounded when you were younger, remember?" He pushed him a little to get him moving when the ramp had completely lowered. "And besides, she's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say," he said, grumbling again as he readjusted the heavy bag on his shoulder. "She actually likes _you_."

***

"Okay, I got it." Tank pulled the old key from the door and slowly opened it. "Hey, Trinity. I got it."

She gave one more long look to the seemingly endless cavern below, and moved away from the railing. Inside, she left the heavy bags on the table, and practically collapsed into the nearest chair. "So there's actually a bottom to that thing, huh?"

"Yeah. You can't see it at night, though."

Trinity leaned her forearms against her knees, breathing more heavily than she should have been. "Why am I so worn out?"

"'Cause," he said, taking his bag off to his room and returning. "You just walked about twenty times farther than you ever have in your entire life. C'mon." He took her bag from the table, and started off to the back of the apartment again. "Zee's room is this way."

"Shouldn't we tell your parents that we're here?"

"Let them sleep." He set her things down at the foot of the bed. "Bathroom's out and to the left. Feel free to get something from the kitchen if you want. G'night." He left, closing the door, while Trinity was barely able to pull of her boots before falling asleep.

***

"Zee, Honey, leave that alone," her father admonished.

"It's for school," she replied absently, her typing never faltering.

"Zee, it's Sunday, leave it alone and come sit down."

"And just as soon as you two are done cooking and Cas shows up, I will." She stopped briefly, staring t the clock on the screen with a frown. "_Is_ she even coming? She should have been here half an hour ago. She didn't say anything to you, did she?"

Her father checked the digital wall clock a second time as he wiped his hands dry. "She _should_ be."

"I called her last night," her mother added. "She said she was coming." She sighed, turning off the burners on the stove. "I hope she's not sick."

Zee drummed her fingers impatiently on the desk for several seconds. She was just about to resume her typing, fingers just over the keyboard, when someone knocked loudly at the door. "Finally." She quickly saved what work she had done, and stood from her seat. "I'll let her in."

"Speak of the devil," her mother said with a small smile, pulling plates out of the cupboard.

"You're late, Cas," they heard from around the corner. "You were supposed to be here half an -" There was a brief moment's silence, then Zee suddenly burst into laughter. "You're back!" Both parents rushed to the front door to see what all the commotion was about.

"C'mon, Zee," he smiled, lifting her off the ground in a hug. "Is that any way to talk to my wife?"

"Dozer!" His mother swept him up in a hug as son as Zee was willing to let go. "I thought you weren't coming in for a few days."

"Yeah, but we found a clear path back. Came home early."

"Well," his father wondered, peering outside. "Where's your brother? He's not still at the dock, is he?

"No, we came in last night. He's not up yet?"

Zee rolled her eyes, muttering, "Oh, that _little_ -" as she ran to the back of the apartment.

"Well," Cas said, pulling the door closed as they too headed for the back of the house, "glad to see those two getting along so well."

Zee just stood in Tank's doorway for a moment, shaking her head in frustration. Typical Tank thing to do, show up in the middle of the night and not tell anyone. Just _typical_. So, she figured, he deserved what he was about to get.

"_OW_!" He practically jumped from the bed, tangling himself in the sheets. "Why the _hell_ does everyone keep hitting me!?"

"You should have told us you were here!"

He glared at her and briefly at his parents, standing just inside the door, and lay back down pulling the pillow over his head. "Gowwaway."

"Tank, get up!"

"Go wake up Trinity," he grumbled, barely heard under the pillow.

"Who?"

"She's been asleep for sixteen years," he complained, as if he hadn't even heard her question. "She doesn't need any more!"

"Neither do you," Trinity said quietly from the door. She smirked when he peeked at her from under the pillow before pulling it back. "Oh, come on Tank, get up. You can sleep tonight."

"Who's your friend?" his mother asked, quickly looking her over.

"Trinity," he mumbled, coming out from under the pillow just a little bit. "We pulled her out a few months ago."

She smiled briefly to his collective family.

"This is Mom," he mumbled, pointing her out. "Aurora, Shadow, call her whatever. Dad, Virgil. The one Dozer's glued do is Cas." Both rolled their eyes at this. "And the whiny one with the screechy voice -" he pulled the pillow back for protection just as Zee hit him, again "- is Zee."

Trinity smiled again and went over to Tank. "Seeing as how you're up for introductions," she began, pulling the pillow well out of his reach, "you should be ready to face the day - so _get up_."

"C'mon," Zee said, pushing him into a sitting position, "I'm hungry."

"You'll have to wait," Virgil said. "We didn't make enough food for seven people."

Numerous groans erupted from the group as he led them out to the kitchen.

***

"She's the one you had been watching, right?" Cas asked, as she helped to cook all the extra food.

"Yeah." Dozer was also helping. He checked the clock again. "Someone want to go tell her she's going to use up all the hot water?"

"Take it easy," Trinity said as she briefly poked her head in, drying her hair with one of the family's raggedy old towels. "I'm done."

"Enjoy a hot shower for a change?"

"Yes." She went back to her room to get dressed.

"So tell me something about Trinity," Shadow began. "What exactly did she do to get Morpheus' attention?"

"Just luck that we found her." Tank was only now starting to wake up, but was still resting lazily on the nearby couch. "But he started thinking she was the One after a while."

Shadow was quiet fore a moment, eyeing her son carefully. "She's not then?"

"We have no idea."

"Hasn't he taken her to the Oracle?"

"Yeah, but we have no idea what she said. When she came back, she just stayed in her cabin for a day or two. She hadn't said a word about it."

"But she doesn't know Morpheus thinks that," Dozer added. "So don't mention it to her."

"Little late for that," she said suddenly, seeming to appear out of nowhere. She dug through a cabinet for a mug. Finding one, she filled it at the sink and leaned against the counter, meeting each gaze, some worried, some shocked. "Look, the Oracle told me about it. And just for the record, I'm not, so stop worrying." She sat at the table across from Zee, as if nothing had happened. "So other than that, can I assume I still earned being unplugged?"

Everyone else sat in stunned silence for a minute before Dozer answered, "You cracked the IRS. That'll get anyone unplugged."

Shadow stared at her, not noticing that the food was ready and that her son and daughter-in-law had turned off the stove and were setting out extra dishes. "_You_ cracked the IRS?"

Trinity nodded, cheeks flushing a little.

"On your own?"

"Yes," she muttered hesitantly. "A few days before I was pulled out. It's not that big of a deal." She turned a slightly darker shade of red.

"It's a _huge_ deal, Trinity." Shadow was nearly beside herself. "I didn't even _consider_ trying it, ever, even knowing what was in it. I never considered anything like that."

Trinity looked up, confused, her blush fading. "What do you mean?"

She moved away from the wall, setting her own cup on the table. Her bracelets jangled as she turned her arm and pushed up her sleeve, revealing a small, black plug just below her elbow. She grinned a little when the younger girl's eyes widened and she sat up straighter. She let the sleeve fall back. "I was unplugged when I was fifteen, from the Neb."

"How long were you there?"

"Twenty-three years."

Trinity frowned a slightly, working out the math in her head. "They let you stay on the ship when you were pregnant – _three times_?"

"Just for a while," she assured her.

"You take some time off after about six months," Virgil explained. "Stay here for a while, then go back on the ship."

Tank, meanwhile, sat at the end of the table, head resting on crossed arms as he eyed the food, still waiting on the stove. It was ready to be served and eaten, he knew, and yet, for some reason, no one was making any effort to do so. But he couldn't figure out _why_. His parents were wonderful cooks, especially considering their limited resources to use. And here he was, having gone months without a decent, or even _different_ meal. Dozer hadn't had anything good either, and Trinity, never. Yet both were still sitting, Trinity talking with his parents, and Dozer was just listening, occasionally talking with Cas. He glanced at the food again, and decided he wasn't waiting any longer.

"To make a long story short," he said loudly, interrupting Trinity's question, "Dad was the Neb's operator, they met, and the rest, as they say, is history - let's eat." He didn't wait for someone else to get the food, and took two pots from the stove.

All six of them stared at him vacantly, annoyance and anger barely detectable.

"What?"

After another long stretch of silence, Shadow finally moved to take the other two pots from the stove, and set them down on the table. "Virgil left the ship when Dozer was born, started teaching here. And when my Unbelievably Tactless Son was four, they wanted to make me captain, but I spent too much time away from this place already. I would practically never see any of my friends or family again if I accepted. I've been teaching for the last thirteen years." She sat down and watched Tank pour a large spoonful from every pot onto his plate. "Although we seem to be better at teaching some things than others."

"I resent that."

***

"Where are we going?" Trinity asked as she, Tank and his parents waited for the main elevator to reach their level.

"Restaurant down in the lower levels," Virgil said. "You'll like it."

The doors slid open after another minute, and Tank hit the panel button when they and the rest of the small crowd entered. "They've got pretty much everything you could possibly make with what we have. "You name it, they probably have it."

"Most of it is synthetic," Shadow added, "but it doesn't taste half bad."

Trinity leaned against the wall, letting them carry on their conversation, and just listening. She let her eyes wander around the elevator, watching everyone. There were a few other families, some of them big. One was just a man and a little girl, sitting on his shoulders. There were some people her age, probably going to some restaurant as well. There were a few crewmembers, fresh from a ship, as well. Only four, though, which was strange because the military levels were below them, and most everyone in the fleet lived there. She looked a little closer, and suddenly realized that she knew one of them. "Ghost?"

The youngest of them spun around, and smiled in surprise when he saw her. He set his bag down, and joined her across the elevator. "Trinity, hi. How long have you been here?"

"A few days. You?"

"About an hour." He gestured to his crew, all of whom were watching him. "We're going down to the military quarter."

She looked over his shoulder to his crew, then back to Tank's family. "Hold on." She left him for a moment and went to Tank, speaking to him quickly. He nodded after a moment, and she came back. "Listen," she started, "we're going to dinner, down in the lower levels. Do you want to come when you're done unpacking?"

"Sure," he smiled. "I can't cook anyway."

***

She glanced towards the door again, beginning to get annoyed. "What's taking him so long?"  
"Is this his first time here?" Virgil asked, following her gaze to the nearby entrance.

"Yeah."

"Then that explains it. He's probably got someone showing him the basics of everything, how things work – stuff like that. It can take a while. He'll show up, don't worry."

She sighed, staring uselessly at the door again. She waited a few seconds longer, and Ghost suddenly walked in, looking around the room in search of them.

"Ghost!" His head snapped around at her voice, and he quickly scanned the tables. Trinity stood from her chair a little and waved at him. "Over here!"

He came over, jogging a little, and sat in the open seat next to Trinity. "Hello," he said politely, and somewhat formally.

"This is my ships operator, Tank, an his parents, Shadow and Virgil." Ghost nodded to each of them, smiling a little. "Everyone, this is Ghost. He's from the Logos."

"They're twins," Tank said, seeming more interested than he should have been.

"Twins?" they both asked simultaneously.

"What do you mean?" Ghost finished.

"It's just what we call people who were unplugged on the same day."

"It's pretty uncommon," Shadow elaborated, "just because it's so dangerous." Noting their raised, slightly concerned eyebrows, she went on. "All right, do you remember what the red pill did, specifically? It disrupted your carrier signals, which allow you to interact with everything in the Matrix. That's how you find the person you're unplugging, you look for the location of the signals that are going haywire. But because they're malfunctioning, you can't tell whose it is unless you already know. So if two people are unplugged to different ships at the same time, they might pick up the wrong person… or they might both go after the same person. Then the other would drown."

Trinity and Ghost both paled slightly at the implications.

"Yeah," she nodded, looking a bit grim. "They try to work it so that it doesn't happen, but things don't always work out. Seems to have been the case with the two of you."

The food came then, and after Ghost ordered, Trinity though to ask him something. "Did you captain have you take the test?"

He leaned back in the old chair and ran both hands over his still-fuzzy head, ruffling what little hair he had. "Yeah. Three days ago."

"How'd you do?"

"Pretty well, I think I passed." He seemed to fade out briefly, drawing back into his mind. But, finding the memories their less than pleasant, he shook his head and turned back to face Trinity. "So how'd you do?"

She sighed heavily and took a long, slow drink of water. She gave him no reply.

He frowned a little. "You couldn't have been _that_ bad…."

"Actually, I killed an Agent." Her head stayed down, and her eyes stayed closed. She didn't see the looks of surprise that circled the table, but she knew they were there.

"…You did not….

"Actually, she did," Tank said, still eating.

"How?"

"I jumped from one roof to another, I shot him when he followed me."

"Yeah," Virgil confirmed. "They can't dodge bullets in midair, they have to be able to brace against something."

"So…." Ghost shifted in his chair to look at her more directly, confusion written all over his face. "If you did so well, why do you seem… like you don't want to talk about it?"

"Because that _goddamn_ test –" she looked furious, revolted by just having to talk about it "- was the scariest shit I've ever had to go through, and I want as much distance between me and the memory as possible."

"That bad, huh?" Shadow asked. Somehow, she was being sympathetic to Trinity's anger without looking down on her.

"I kicked Morpheus when he told me it wasn't real," she grumbled cynically, starting on her dinner.

"She did," Tank confirmed, before anyone had a chance to claim any disbelief.

"I'm just glad it's over." She finally relaxed a little, loosening up at that very knowledge. "I can just be on the ship without having to worry."

Virgil and Shadow both tensed visibly, exchanging hesitant glances. "Trinity… didn't anyone tell you?"

It was pure denial that kept her from recognizing this right away. It was obvious – the looks, the posture, the tone of voice – this was something she wasn't going to like, and she could guess what it was. "_Tank_," she began accusingly, "what didn't –"

He nearly jumped away from her, instantly defensive and avoiding her lethal glare. "Look, I just thought," he stammered, sweating bullets, "that, y-you know, um –"

"Trinity," Shadow murmured, soothingly.

Trinity continued glaring at Tank, angry as hell for not mentioning this new thing that would keep her from joining the crew as a real member. She'd been through enough to earn her place, and this seemed like it would be the straw to break the camel's back.

"Trinity." Virgil now. Finally, Trinity turned away from Tank, glare ebbing slightly, and met his eyes. "You're guaranteed a place in the fleet now, they just want to give you a little extra training before that."

"I've already been trained," she snapped.

"Professionally, at the academy."

She was trying very hard to control her temper. "Morpheus told me that if I passed, I wouldn't have to train here."

"Not as long as someone who didn't pass," Shadow assured. "They'd have to train for a year or two, you only have to go for two months."

A long, low growl emanated from Trinity's throat, and she turned away.

"Two months?" Ghost asked. "That's it?"

"Two months."

"And there's nothing else?" Trinity asked, to be sure. Her head was tilted down, eyes closed. "Then we can be on the crew, no trouble, same as anyone else?"

"You're captains might keep you out of more dangerous situations for a while, just until you have more experience. But yes, other than that. That's it."

Finally, Trinity sighed, and went back to her dinner. "This'll all end up being worth it?"

"Definitely."

***

Yeah, took too long. I know.

R+R : )


	14. Dear Brother

My usual apologies for the lateness. I left a big chunk I had written out of here, I might add it later, I don't know.

-

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Fourteen

Dear Brother

-

It took her a moment, but she finally relaxed, and returned Tank's hug.

"Don't worry, Trin," he said soothingly, finally letting go. "Two months is a lot less time than you'd think around here. You'll be back on the Neb before you know it."

"Easy for you to say," she replied, a cynical half-smile crossing her face.

"I'm serious. You'll be doing so much that you'll blink and it'll be over."

She shook her head a little, not trusting him in the least.

"Fine, fine." He shrugged, resigning to the fact that she didn't believe him. There was only so much he could do. "Then would you at least believe me if I told you it'll be worth it?"

"I suppose."

His perpetual grin returned as he slung the heavy bag, waiting on the ground next to him, over his shoulder. "Good." He quickly hugged her once more, and headed to the nearby ship, shouting a brief goodbye back to her. Trinity stayed at the dock. leaning against a pillar as the Neb's engines started up, and the ship eventually disappeared through one of the gates.

How long had she been doing this? How long, she wondered, making her way to the freight elevator, had she been working for this? Longer than she could possibly remember, certainly, likely for her entire life. Inside the elevator she pressed the button for the lowest level of the dock.

Her whole life she had been told by parents, teachers - everyone - that she was just imagining it, she was in a bad mood, or something else to the effect that she was either going through a phase or bound for a mental institution by prom. In retrospect, she knew they all had hopes for the former, hoping that their 'reassurances' would help her to get over it. But they had only ever reassured her to the fact that she was right, and made her want to fix _It_ all the more. She had tried all the normal things a person could think of, she recalled, stepping out of the elevator and making her way to the city's main quarters - and most of it at the suggestion of those same people who told her it was nothing. Switch even helped her with a few ideas. She volunteered everywhere imaginable, food banks, shelters, anywhere they suggested she go. But no matter how much she did, no matter how many people thanked her as they took their food off to eat, she never felt as though it would be _enough_. Doing those things never gave her the sense that she was making a real difference.

And the Oracle, she recalled with a cringe - tricky and ambiguous as ever - crossed her path, and told her that with another year of difficult and tedious work, she would have her answers. Another year of anguish, all in the name of her precious goals. Then she found Morpheus, and foolishly assumed that was the end of it. But no, they said. You'll have to go through plenty of training, they said. It's not as easy or fun as is seems, they told her. And then, of course, came the Antarctic-like Nebuchadnezzar, with her ancient, lumpy, uncomfortable, near-worthless beds. Her vast stores of the ever-popular, ever-lasting, non-perishable "food." The tin can walls, so thin that you could hear a mess-hall conversation all the way in the cabin if the engines were off. That goddamn test... and now this.

Slowly, lazily, she returned to Tank's apartment, neither noticing nor caring that it was deserted. Even though they had promised that this two months would be it, that after this, she'd become a full-fledged member of the crew, a little prick of doubt still nagged at her. She had been through so much already, every time thinking that that would be it, she'd be able to put her conscience at rest and do some good in the world. But, every time, it seemed, there was one more obstacle in the way - always one more. And no matter how positive she tried to be about it, she couldn't help but worry that it would all be for nothing in the end. That this, her one chance, wasn't meant to be.

Eventually, though, as she was pulling off her boots, she told herself that too much had happened, she had worked to hard and too long for this opportunity to be for nothing, for her to _let_ it be for nothing. One way or another, she was going to _make_ it work out.

A final thought drifted through her mind as she fell into a dreamless sleep: _Damn right it'll be worth it_.

-

"Trinity!' someone called from the other side of the court. "Trinity! Come on, you haven't gone up against anybody yet!"

"Go on," Ghost muttered from the steps beside her, this being the third time someone had said something like this. "One fight won't kill you. And if nothing else, it'll get them to leave you alone if a few people walk away limping."

"Come on!" The same person, situated across the makeshift dojo/basketball court, near the tables covered in nearly every food imaginable. Construct free-for-all with live entertainment, and students who wouldn't settle for anything but the best fight available. "You can fight Magus!"

She eyed the named boy, a year or so older and a few yards to her left, briefly considering. Eventually, she sighed, saying, "All right." She finished what was left of the Pepsi in her hand in a single gulp, and met her opponent at the run-down simulation's barely visible half-court line.

"Glad to see you finally decided to get into this," he said, voice all to charming, grin all to innocent.

She narrowed her eyes at him ever so slightly, barely whispering, "Lets just get this over with."

And get it over with she did. He did put up a good fight, she would readily give him that much, using a number of the more complicated techniques taught to them by their various instructors. But he was far from the best fighter in the class. After only a few minutes, Trinity had found his weakness, and hit him with a blinding series of strikes, and landed him on his back with a kick to his sternum.

"Sorry," she said half-heartedly, extending a hand to help him up.

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, reluctantly accepting her assistance.

She smirked at him, and headed back to her place on the steps, beside Ghost, when voices erupted again. "One more!"

"You can fight Hex!"

Sighing again, and grumbling so no one else could hear, Trinity returned to the center of the court, meeting the eyes of the new opponent, who was practically waiting for her before the crowd even requested him. "Don't get your hopes up," she warned him vehemently. She glared slightly, but it did not seem to deter him. "I don't intend to loose, and I certainly don't intend to leave here without getting my share of the food, so I'll just deal with you quick." Him, and another two after, all beaten in much the same fashion.

Meanwhile, most of the class' male students were growing increasingly angry at the fact that Trinity - a _girl_, of all else - was beating the shit out of some of the best male fighters among them, and far too easily at that. So a small group of the older boys had formed, and quickly snuck up behind Ghost, halfway through the latest match, and began patronizing him.

"Ghost, man," one began, roughly pulling his attention away from the fight. "You should fight her next."

He didn't give it so much as a moment's though. "I'm not fighting her."

"Come _on_, Ghost, she's beating the shit out of everybody, and you said you've beaten her before."

"Once," he clarified blandly, eyes never leaving Trinity. "When she was upset and unbelievably distracted."

One of them gestured to the crowd, all too confident and undeterred. "We've got plenty of people here for a distraction."

"Not that kind of distraction," he said, growing distaste evident in his voice. "She can block that out."

"Ghost -"

"Glitch, if you want to see her lose so badly, then you go fight her." He watched as Trinity flipped her current opponent onto his back, and rendered him - though not for his lack of trying - unable to get back up for several very long seconds

"Ghost, man, if you lose, I'll never bother you about it again."

He turned to meet the other student's eyes, just as Trinity made to help her fallen adversary to his feet.

"Swear to God."

He shook his head very slowly, wondering why he was doing this, how he had been talked into it. He stood, and made his way over to meet her.

She carefully folded her arms over her chest when she noticed him, just as she had turned around, and one eyebrow was raised when he reached her. "I though we had already worked out the ass-kicking arrangements, Ghost."

"Maybe." He smirked very slightly, but otherwise remained passive. "But I've been thinking, since we were unplugged on the same day, we're almost like brother and sister. And I wouldn't want to beat my sister in front of all these people if she didn't want me to."

She glared at him as quiet laughs drifted out from the crowd. He was pushing it. "Better watch it, Ghost. Being cocky like that'll be your downfall."

"I'm simply saying, Dear Sister, that if you want to back out now and spare yourself the humiliation, no one here will think any less of you." His voice was such that if it possessed just a fraction less of a laughing quality, he would be perceived as completely serious in his words.

More laughter erupted. He was _really_ pushing it.

Trinity seemed to stand just a bit taller, and moved to be only inches from his face. "Bring it on, Dear Brother," she whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.

"If you insist," he grinned, and attacked. She instinctively ducked beneath his kick and moved to sweep his legs out from under him. He jumped before she could, and they separated, only to collide again milliseconds later.

Being so intently focused on one another - delivering strikes and counterstrikes, blocking, jumping, maneuvering - neither really noticed the crowd. As a whole, Zion society wasn't very sexist, but no one in the simulation had been raised in Zion - and thus they were sorely divided. The girls shouting encouragement to Trinity for another win, the boys shouting for Ghost to get at least _one_ victory for their side. Of course, neither opponent heard a word of it.

She stopped his fist in front of her face and froze for and instant. "You've been holding out on me," she whispered, letting the fight resume.

He was faster than before, she noticed; she would even say more alert. Of course he had been one of the better fighters she had gone up against before, but this was much different than their old fights. Had it really been that long since they last sparred, long enough for him to get this much better?

He tried to kick her again. She back flipped high into the air, landing far away and circling him quickly. "Is this all I have to do to get a fair fight out of you, Ghost?" she taunted, moving ever closer as she went around him. "Threaten public humiliation?"

"Don't flatter yourself." They met again almost moving to fast to see. "It's the training," he finished while blocking a quick series of punches.

It seemed that it was only then that the fight really started to heat up. So, naturally, it was only then that the buildings, benches and concrete dissipated into the white nothingness of the Construct. A blink, and they were all sitting in their respective jacking chairs in the massive Core of the real world.

"What the hell?!"

"They weren't _finished_!"

"Why'd you do that?!"

"Lunch is _over_," said the teacher sternly. He caught the eye of another student about to protest, silently warning her not to. "I let you stay in there twenty minutes longer as it is, but you all need to get to your classes now." He turned on his heel and left, expecting the rest of them to do the same.

"_Rematch_!" shouted one of the other students, just as soon as the teacher was gone and the operators had started unplugging everyone. "Tonight!"

A chorus of loud agreement resounded through out the room. Trinity and Ghost both reached around to unplug themselves, and glanced at one another when they sat up. Both agreed immediately.

"It's a draw," she announced, loud enough to be heard over the crowd.

Silence.

"_WHAT?!_"

"It's a draw," she repeated. "No rematch."

The two of them stood, ignoring the few protests, and made their out of the Core without looking back.

-

Zion's obviously synthetic coffee didn't have much, if any caffeine. Even so, she hadn't had enough to be in this condition, still restless hours after she had climbed into bed. The only logical and possible conclusion that she could come to was that, after spending much of the last week in simulations, running all over the digital city, and having never run in her life, her legs simply needed a good stretch, and wouldn't let her sleep until she gave it to them.

So finally, after laying in her bed for so long, she stood up, flipped on a light, and started lacing up her shoes.

-

Upon seeing her, the most incredulous look appeared on Ghost's face, and remained until she finally slowed to a halt beside him, leaning against the railing as she caught her breath.

"Trinity," he began, slowly, and the look she gave him dared him to keep using that tone. "What are you doing?"

Her eyes narrowed further - what did it _look_ like she was doing? - and she rested her forehead on her arms, folded over the railing.

"Come on." Vainly, he tried to ease her into a standing position, or at least a straighter one. "Come on, Trin, come sit down."

She brushed him off, walked - slowly and painfully - down the nearby walkway leading to the elevator, and sat against the railing. He joined her, and allowed her another moment to let her breathing even out.

"So what to you intend to do," he mused, "when Shadow and Virgil find out that you're literally running around in the middle of the night?"

Both pairs of eye remained fixated on the tiny lights of the catacomb apartments, rising into the darkness above. "What are _you _going to do," she retorted, using his same monotone voice, "when one of the administrators finds out you've left after lights-out?"

They turned to each other, holding gazes for a moment. Trinity smirked, Ghost grinned, and they returned to staring straight ahead.

"Why are you out here anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep, figured walking around would help."

With a nod she accepted his response, and let the comfortable silence stretch out between them. They remained as they were, slumped against the railing, staring into space, for several very long minutes. Finally, Ghost turned to her, and found her staring up, almost wistfully.

"Trinity?" She came out of her trance and met his eyes evenly. "Are you alright?"

A hint of a smile flitted across her face before she looked away. "I was just thinking...." Sigh. "Everything just changed so fast. I just don't think I'll ever get used to it, sometimes."

"You will eventually." He reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. A comforting gesture.

She looked at him suddenly, carefully scrutinizing him as if she expected to read his mind if she stared long enough. That was typical Ghost, being so caring towards her, treating her like the sister she might has well have been. Or at least, she assumed this was how brothers treated their sisters. The only example she had ever seen was Switch and her own personal pest. But she had long ago disregarded them as sibling role models, guessing it either had something to do with the age difference, or that it was just them. Either way, Ghost treated her like a sister. It was mostly little things like this, giving a bit of reassurance or comfort where and when it was needed. Strangely, though, they were mostly gestures, not words - he clearly preferred to let his actions speak for themselves. "You're too quiet."

This time, it was he who scrutinized her. "_What_?"

"You are," she repeated. "You don't talk enough. If no one says anything, you keep your mouth shut."

He couldn't tell if she was serious, or just making fun of him. "And what exactly do you want me to do about it?"

"I'm not saying you should do anything about it." She leaned her head back, and her eyes slipped shut. "Just stating a fact."

He watched her incredulously for another moment, and finally, finally noticed the shadow of a smirk that had crept onto her face, that unable to will it away.

He shook his head and laughed. "I can honestly say that I've never met anyone like you."

She finally laughed out loud, making him smile as well, and then fell into silence once again. He watched her for a while, watched her stare up into what would be the night sky, watched her eyes slip shut, before he finally looked away.

-

Ghost stirred suddenly, unsure of what had roused him. But when had he dozed off, and how long ago had it been?

And how long had Trinity been asleep, he wondered, again noticing her still form beside him. "Trinity." He gently touched her shoulder, not wanting to startle her.

Instead, she startled him. "What is it?" She was fully awake, alert. She met his eyes.

"I thought you were asleep."

She smiled. "No."

He forced himself to sit up straighter. "What were you doing, then?"

She sighed, shaking her head. "If I told you, you'd think I was crazy."

_Why would I think that, Trin?_ "No I won't." _I'd never think you were crazy_, he thought, finding her rare and almost child-like innocence amusing.

Studying his face carefully and deciding he was being sincere, she spoke slowly. "It's just... I if concentrate enough, it's like...." She searched for the right words, never having needed them before. "It's like I can feel all the people around me. Just kind of _know _that they're there."

A frozen moment passed between the pair.

"Still think I have all of my marbles, Dear Brother?"

He shrugged. "Same number you had before I asked," he said, ducking away from a hit upside his head.

-

Being that she was alone in the apartment, and thinking it to be Aurora or Virgil, she ignored the heavily creaking door as it closed. Instead, she continued scrolling through the long list of pirated Matrix movie files displayed on the computer screen.

"Hello!" called a voice, sounding faint from the front room. Her head snapped around, and she was instantly on her feet and out of her room. "Is there anyone who might possibly care that I'm -" He stumbled back a ways when she rushed through the door and hugged him tightly. "Hey, Trin."

"I didn't know you were back, Tank," she commented, holding him at arms length. "Is this unusual, or does Morpheus always dock the ship early?"

"Occasionally." His first stop was the very basic, very functional refrigerator in the kitchen, digging around for something decent to eat. "Where is everyone?" he asked, picking away at a small bundle of genetically engineered grapes he had found. "Isn't it Saturday?"

"They went out to eat." They sat across from each other at the table; Trinity stole a single grape from his bunch and received no protest. "Any particular reason you're back early this time?"

"Gathering tonight," he mumbled. "We didn't want to miss it."

"What is that?" Her curiosity was suddenly peaked. "I've hear people talking about it."

Tank grinned. "Sneaking into clubs as much as you did, I think you'll like it."

-

Trinity wasn't following what the speaker - a Councilor, Dozer had said - was saying. She'd lost him about twenty seconds into his speech. Instead, she was staring down at herself, dressed in some of Zee's old clothes. She had insisted that she could simply wear some of her own, but Zee had been persistent - almost stubborn - saying that Trinity would feel horribly underdressed in her oversized, worn out and stained sweaters and pants, and she should just take hers - she was even free to keep them, they didn't fit her anymore.

She finally consented, allowing the older woman to pick out a somewhat tight, sleeveless white shirt, cut near to her collarbones, and a pair of tan-colored pants that somehow fit her anorexic-looking body just right. She'd been talked into a few extras - a golden, netted wraparound for her waist, a silver bracelet with teardrop charms, and a simple chain necklace. She still wasn't used to most of it - she couldn't remember ever wearing jewelry, even when she was younger.

She looked back to the front of the massive cavern, not having to strain to hear the Councilor, still speaking, despite the enormity of the crowd, and the slight hum from shuffling feet, rustling fabric, and whispered comments. He seemed to be standing in an alcove that naturally amplified and projected his voice, even to the farthest wall.

"Is this all we do?" Tank gave her a sideways glance, to indicate that he was listening. "Listen to people give speeches?"

He snorted quietly. "Just a few more minutes."

"In a few minutes, my feet will officially be killing me," she grumbled into his ear. "Why can't we wear shoes in here, anyway?"

He laughed a bit louder, drawing glances from surrounding people. "You'll be ready to cut your legs off at the hip by the end of this, Trin."

Applause and cheers rang up around them, and it took her a moment to realize that the Councilor had said something, ending his speech when Tank was speaking. She wasn't startled, only surprised, by a loud, low, resonating drum being struck behind her place on a ledge off to the side, followed moments later by quieter drums, beginning to beat out a rhythm.

"Excuse me," Tank said absently, though Trinity, staring out into the crowd, didn't hear. The entire crowd began to move in a giant wave, those closest to the drummers beginning the dance first, their movements quickly rippling out into the rest of the group. Spreading through the massive cavern, just as a smile slowly spread over her face.

"Tank -" But as she turned to pull him onto the dance floor with her, she found herself standing among strangers. Scanning the area, she just saw him disappear among the erratically moving bodies - although she did not fail to notice that he seemed to be following the path of a group of girls, likely not much older than he was. She glared slightly at his retreating form. But as her eyes came up, and she quickly took everything in, she noticed Ghost, looking rather uncomfortable and out of place, and like he would be perfectly content to melt into the stone wall he was leaning against. He did not see her weave through small, chatting groups to his side.

"Dance with me," she said with a smile, startling him, and tugging him along by his wrist..

He immediately pulled back, and instinctively jerked his wrist away. "I'd really rather not." He sounded much more at ease that she knew he was.

"It's fun, Ghost, come on."

He pulled his wrist back before she had a chance to take it again. "I'm fine here."

She cocked her head to the side, growing impatient, and planted her hands firmly on her hips. "You can't stand there all night. Come on, you'll like it."

"I'm fine." He shifted his eyes to hers briefly, then away again. "I can't dance anyway."

Trinity snatched his wrist before he could move, and held on tight. "It's fun." He didn't look convinced. "I'll _show_ you how do dance, Ghost."

He was about to protest yet again when their eyes accidentally locked. They were different, not like he had ever seen them before. They did not hold the slight gloom that seemed to come with that uneasy feeling that the world was not right. There was not a darkness that followed coming to terms with reality. No, those were all gone, replaced by a light spirit, a _normality_. A smile on her face, reflected into her eyes.

Without conscious thought, he let her lead him out into the crowd, gyrating to the beat of the drums.

-

It was late at night in the Mess hall, her first day back on the Neb, and her first day ever as a member of her crew. Trinity and Tank sat to one end of the table, slightly off from the rest of them. Leaning over to him, she whispered in his ear a few brief words of thanks. She thanked him for letting her stay with his family, but they both knew it was far more than that. It was thanks not only for a place to stay, people to take care of her and show her around, to explain all of the little details of the real world and the last human city.

It was an unspoken and heartfelt thanks to him for giving her a family in a world where she hardly knew her way, barely belonged, and where she truly needed it.

-

And thus, ladies and (possibly a few) gentlemen, I find myself at a crossroads. This story could be ended here. I could walk away, and it could be deemed finished. But of course, that leaves ideas unexplored, thoughts unexplained, and promises to _you_ points unfulfilled. Hmm. Hm, hm, hm. What's a writer to do?

What do you think?


	15. Reunion

I really do apologize. But stuff happens, ya know? Anyway, I never had any intention of stopping with the last chapter - I'm not that cruel, and I just though it would be fun to mess with people's heads. Anywho, I don't intend it to take this long again.

---

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Fifteen

Reunion

---

"I am _not going_!" The young girl was indignant. She had the couch's throw blanket pulled over her head, effectively hiding her short, jet black hair. Ice blue eyes peeked out, glaring slightly into the doorway across from her.

"Yes you are," her mother called from the kitchen, completely unperturbed by the strength of her daughter's voice. "It's just down to the basement." She reappeared in the living room with her keys, and picked up her full laundry basket. "Come on."

"I am not going anywhere looking like this." Her voice was at a more normal volume, but the tone remained the same.

"It is _just_ a haircut, stop acting like the sky is falling."

"You _know_ I like my hair long, Mom, why'd you make me cut it?"

The older woman sighed, brushing her own hair behind her ear. "Sweetheart, it's better like this. It kept getting into your face before, and it got all tangled." Her daughter narrowed her eyes, pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "It'll be easier to handle for both of us. Come on, lets go."

"No."

The door was already open, now, and she was halfway through it. She turned over her shoulder, looking stern. "This is not a request. Besides," she said, trying her best to brighten up, "there's a new family that's moved in down the hall. They'll be there, and they have a daughter your age, you'll like her."

The girl did not move. Dark face returning, her mother set her laundry basket just outside the door, and dragged her daughter - and her own basket - through it, shutting it before she could go back. She practically had to shove her to make her move.

"I don't want to go!" Back to whining. "I look ugly like this!"

"Sweetheart, you look beautiful, same as always."

"I do _not_!" People in the apartments down the hall probably could have heard her. "I look like a boy!"

"You do not look like a boy."

"Yes I _do_!"

"Fine," her mother resigned. "You look like a boy. Why is that such a big tragedy?" She pushed the call button for the elevator, and the doors slid open immediately. She pushed the girl forward with a gentle nudge from her basket.

"Because girls are _better_!" They stepped out six floors later, in the basement - the young girl still being shoved along. "But Mom, everyone is down there this time of day, they'll see me."

"Stop it." She seemed to have finally lost her patience. "You're overreacting." She had little difficulty balancing the laundry basket against her hip so that she could open the laundry room door. Although she managed to pull her daughter along as well, she could not persuade her to come out from behind her in an attempt to hide from the rest of the tenants. "Look," she said after a moment, pointing, "there they are. Rachel!"

She peeked out from behind her mother to see a blond woman, and her even blonder daughter approach them. In that moment of inattention, her mother tugged her around to face them. The other girl looked no more willing to be there than she.

"Come on," her mother whispered as she forced her to take a few steps farther. "Sweetheart," the blond woman said to her daughter as they approached, "this is Eva Harper and her daughter Amelia."

"Amelia," she said, holding her daughter in place with a hand to her shoulder, "Rachel and Kelly Miller."

"Say hi, Kelly," Rachel said sweetly. Nothing. "Kelly," she said in a low, warning tone.

"Hi."

Amelia stayed quiet, until she felt a sharp nudge in her back. "Hi." Both girls stared at each other briefly, before looking back to their quickly talking mothers.

"All right. There's a few washers over there you can use," Eva said, pointing to the far side of the room. "We'll be over here if you need anything."

The two girls watched their mothers' retreating backs for a long minute, then turned around and headed towards the two empty machines. They did not watch each other, they did not speak - each acted as if she was completely alone. This continued through measuring out soap, digging loose change from pockets, and sorting clothes - and they still did not acknowledge each other. They did notice, however.

"Why do you have your hair like that?" Kelly asked absently, shoving a shirt into the machine. "It's too short."

"My mom made me cut it. It _was_ really long before." That little, nearly-precious angry look returned.

"I thought you were a boy when you walked in."

The look of anger changed, was mixed with a certain cynical satisfaction as she marched back to her mother. "At least _somebody_ in here can tell a bad haircut when they see it," she muttered, loudly.

"Oh, what now?" she complained.

"_She_ -" Amelia pointed back to the other girl "- says I look like a boy, too."

Rachel's face grew stern. "Kelly," she began as her daughter joined them, "did you tell her she looked like a boy?"

"Well she does -"

"Kelly, that is _very_ rude."

"I told you I'm not stupid for thinking that," Amelia whispered under her breath to her mother.

"_Amelia_."

"Apologize." Rachel's hands instinctively went to her hips. "Now."

"But she -"

"_Apologize_."

"...sorry...."

"Good. Now I want you two to be nice. All right?"

"Yeah," Kelly muttered, as both girls quietly meandered back to their laundry.

Sighing, Rachel leaned against the washer, and put her head into her hands. "I'm beginning to think that today wasn't the best time to try to get them to be friends.

---

"So how come you're in such a bad mood?" Amelia asked, bored, as she slumped against the machine, hugging her knees to her chest.

"Who said I was?" Kelly's tone was equally bored, and a little annoyed by the question. She absently kicked the toe of her tennis shoe against the running washer.

"You are. I can tell." She picked at a small spot of mud that had long since dried onto her shoe.

"How?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I just watch people and I can usually figure out what mood they're in." Kelly accepted that answer, and hoisted herself to the top of the washer and sat there. "So why are you in a bad mood?"

"I never wanted to move here," she muttered. "My dad got some stupid job and they dragged me over here without even asking me if I wanted to come."

Amelia looked up at her. She was sitting cross legged on the washer, chin resting carelessly in her hand. She was rather angry, and annoyed.

"And to top it off, my stupid brother's bedroom is right next to mine now, so _I'll_ wake up every time he cries at night."

"How old is he?"

"Not even one yet." She looked slightly angrier for a moment, then a thought occurred to her. "Please tell me that school's at least going to be tolerable."

"Well...." She wasn't sure what to say. She assumed that there were better schools out there - or at least schools where she wouldn't have to go around bruising sixth-graders' shins for being such idiots. "Who are you going to have, do you know?"

Kelly squinted at an invisible point across the room, trying to remember. "Miss... Swanson. I think."

"That's my teacher. But a little tip, if a boy named Kevin with really messy hair and freckles says he has something cool to show you, don't go. Kick him or hit him on the back of the head or something if he doesn't leave you alone." Kelly decided not to ask why. The two of them waited in silence for several minutes, until Amelia's stomach growled, and she realized that she hadn't eaten anything since the night before. "Are you hungry?"

"I don't know. A little, I guess."

She stood up and checked the timer on the washer. Plenty of time. "C'mon. There's a McDonald's on the corner." She took the small pile of change she had taken from the pockets of her jeans, and the slightly larger pile her mother had accumulated, and motioned for Kelly to follow her. "Come on."

---

Rachel put the first load of laundry into the dryer, set it to high, and turned it on. Her whites were next into the washer. There was a minor problem, however, one which she did not remember or realize until just then.

"Do you have any bleach?" she asked. "We haven't really gone shopping yet."

"Upstairs," Eva replied simply, folding a towel and adding setting it in the basket. "Give Amelia my keys, she'll run up and get it."

Rachel took the keys that were hanging just over the side of the hamper, and set off toward the far side of the room, to the girls. However, she stopped short when, scanning the area, then the entire room, she saw no saw no sign of them. She quickly turned over her shoulder to the other woman. "Where are they?"

---

"What are you supposed to do around here for fun?"

"Movies. Central Park. There's some smaller parks around here, some arcades and stuff. And this place." Amelia indicated the interior of the McDonald's with a nod of her head.

"Do you come here with your friends a lot?" Kelly asked, trying to make conversation.

"I come here by myself or with my parents. I don't have any friends."

"How come?"

"Everybody at my school is stupid. I don't want to be friends with any of them. None of the girls want to do anything but play with Barbies and steal their moms' makeup and use it. And none of the guys want to play with a girl. Or they just want me to be Lois who just sits in her office all day and does nothing while they're all playing Superman."

"Huh," she mumbled, popping a fry into her mouth. "So it wasn't just the people at my old school."

Amelia couldn't help but laugh then, and she nearly spat out her Coke in the process, and soon both girls were laughing quietly in their corner table.

"Kelly!"

Her head snapped up, startled, at the sound of her mother's concerned, and very angry, voice.

"Kelly, don't you ever scare me like that again!" She swept her daughter up in a hug - it was the only sign of affection and kindness that Amelia would see directed at her for the rest of the day. "What were you thinking, Kelly?" she heard Rachel say as she dragged her daughter off. "You know the rules, you aren't -"

"But _she_ -" Kelly pointed back to the booth where Amelia still sat. "- was with me, she knew where we were going -"

"I don't _care_ if she was with you...." Their voices faded away as they passed through the door and onto the sidewalk.

"Why is her mom so mad? I was here too."

"Well," Eva said, pulling her from the seat with just a bit more force than was necessary, "you'll have plenty of time to think that over. You're grounded for a week."

"_What_?" she nearly screamed. Her mother pulled her along by her wrist, ignoring her protests. "I didn't do anything, you always let me come down here! _I_ didn't break any rules!"

"You should've known better than to bring Kelly without asking her mother." She left it at that, not saying another word.

---

"What was all that about?" Tank asked as Morpheus entered the mess hall.

"It was the Vigilant. Their crew is all full up, but there are some potentials they've been watching that have some promise. They asked us to watch them." He took one of the tin bowls from the cupboard and filled it with the dinner serving of goop. "Trinity," he continued, taking his usual seat. She looked to him over her shoulder as she cleaned out her own bowl. "Your shift is first, I'd like you to check them out for me."

"Sure," she said, circling around the table to the doorway. Just as she left, she heard Tank gloating about winning the card game he had been playing, and Cypher complaining about having to take his nightshifts for a whole week.

IN the core, Trinity spent the first ninety minutes searching through the Matrix for three of their four new prospects, watching for little details to be added to the brief profiles they have been sent. The three seemed fairly promising, and would make good additions to any crew. She made brief notes on each of their abilities and skills before moving on to the fourth and final prospect.

Each profile the Vigilant had sent included the potential's real name and hacker alias, a brief paragraph detailing why they were being targeted, and an RSI picture compiled from their code. It was this profile of the forth potential that Trinity glanced at before she began the search - and it was that profile that made her stop dead in her tracks and stare, open-mouthed, for several very long minutes.

She eventually snapped out of it, and her fingers flew over the keys at lightning speed, running the search. She tapped her fingers and stared at the profile as she waited. time had changed that face so little....

Her fixation turned to the Code when the search was completed, and stayed there until the end of her shift.

All the while, he Oracle's casual words from so long ago rang through her head. _"Don't worry about her, you'll see her soon enough."_

"My God...."

---

"Hey," Tank said casually folding his arms across the back of the chair just as the computer alarm sounded, officially ending Trinity's shift. "Watching someone?" he asked, seeing that the streaming Matrix code was following a woman down a street.

"Yeah," she trailed off, absorbed in the code. She pulled herself back to reality when the woman stepped into a drugstore. "One of the prospects from the Vigilant."

"Okay," he said with a yawn. "You go get some shut-eye, I'll watch her." Once again, she appeared not to be listening. Her hands were folded, and pressed against pursed lips. "Trin?"

"I need to go in and talk to her."

He stared blankly. "Okay." He put a hand to her shoulder, attempting to pull her out of the chair and steer her towards the lower deck. "I think you're just a _little_ bit too sleep deprived. Why don't you -"

"Tank," she snapped, "I'm serious. I have to see her."

"Trinity," he sighed - he really didn't want to play this game with her in the dead of night. "You've been here for four years, you know the rules. No -"

She cut in sternly, "No contact with prospects until we unplug them, I _know_, but it's too late for that, and I _have_ to see her."

Rolling his eyes, not bothering to hide it, he humored her, though his patience was running thin. "Trinity, you've waited a week -" Already having lost her patience, she began setting up her chair. "- You can wait until we unplug her to talk."

She didn't stop. "I had to wait a week, Tank. You're the only one I trust, and Cypher had taken your shifts. If I ended them early, he would have wondered why, and this is no one's business but my own."

"What makes you so sure -"

"_Tank_," she was back to him in an instant, and took his hand to emphasize her words. "Please. I need to see her. I'll take your shifts if you help me and if anyone finds out, you were never involved." She watched him intently as he thought. "_Please_."

It took a while, but he finally sighed, and slid into the operator's chair. "All right."

---

She entered her tiny apartment silently, not wanting any sound to travel through the thin walls to her sleeping neighbors. She deposited her coat and backpack onto the chair by the door and went straight to the kitchen. She didn't turn on any lights until she got there, filled the teakettle with water, and set it on the stove. Returning to the living room, she switched on an overhead light while she slowly sifted through her mail.

"Switch," said a voice from behind her, terrifying her, "if you insist on forgoing the deadbolt, at least make sure you know who's sitting on your couch."

She whipped around and stared, dumbfounded, at the woman sitting so casually at one end of the couch, resting her head against her hand. In the next moment they had met in the middle of the room and were hugging fiercely.

"Trinity...." Switch finally whispered after several minutes. "Where the hell have you been?"

She laughed quietly. "It's a long story." Both women pulled back to regard one another, looking at every facial feature, every detail that had stayed the same, and everything that had changed - and they were locked in a tight embrace once again.

A whistling sound suddenly came from the kitchen, quickly growing louder and more obnoxious with each moment. Pulling away from Trinity, a still stunned Switch asked, "Do you want some coffee?" even as she set off towards the kitchen. She took the kettle off of the stove and pulled took two mugs from the cabinet. Only when she had filled one with the steaming water and added the coffee did she look over her shoulder to see Trinity leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed over her chest, and carrying in her eyes the stern look of a mother. "What?"

"I expected that you would be upset that I was gone," she stated nonchalantly. "I'd be hurt if you weren't."

"But...."

"But that you would switch to instant and stay with it worries me."

Laughing, she mixed the coffee into the second cup and pressed it into Trinity's hands. "You act as if you've been drinking stuff flown in right from South America."

"Actually, the closest thing to coffee where I live tastes like crap," she muttered as she drank. "I only tolerate it because there's nothing else. I'm just surprised you've willingly lowered your standards."

Switch rolled her eyes as she added two packets of sugar and a little creamer into her mug.

Seeing that, Trinity turned back to the couch as she said, "Glad to see that some things haven't changed." She smiled to herself as they sat, loving the ease with which they returned to their old, friendly ways. "So how've you been?"

"Better, worse. I got a full scholarship for the university. Turns out that damn school was good for something after all."

"And this place?" Trinity indicated the small apartment with a small nod.

She was avoiding the questions that she knew were coming. It may have been four years since their last meeting, but Switch could still tell that much in an instant. "My mom got a job at the New York Times. She's helping, and I share this place with a girl who's in some of my classes."

"Right," Trinity mused, remembering seeing that in the last week. "Her. Is she as intolerable as she seems?"

"Trinity, stop it," Switch snapped. "Where the hell have you been?"

The mug had been halfway up to her mouth, and she slowly brought it down, sighing heavily. "Like I said. We don't have enough time for me to explain." She waited silently, not watching her friend, and shook her head with an almost sad smirk. "You wouldn't believe me even if we did."

"Really?"

"I guarantee it."

She smirked. "Then you're not going to tell me what you're doing with a gun on the back of your belt?"

Trinity started slightly, coughing a few times from the coffee that had gone down the wrong way. A small, almost rueful smile appeared on her lips. "No."

"All right," she said impatiently. Trinity was still Trinity, but Switch didn't remember her being this enigmatic four years ago. "At least tell me what insane thing you did to get yourself kidnapped by terrorists -"

"Kidnapped?" She sat a bit straighter and regarded her friend carefully. "Who said I was kidnapped?"

An even, puzzled gaze held hers for a minute before she answered, "Everyone."

Her eyes closed, and she shook her head slowly. "If there's one thing I've learned, Switch, it's that this world is one big lie. But, for the record, Morpheus didn't kidnap me. I didn't have to go if I didn't want to."

She sipped her coffee, staring at some point on the wall. "So you're _willingly_ helping terrorists." There was no malice in her voice, no judgment, just the obvious frustration, and the underlying concern she had always had for her best friend.

"Switch," she said strongly, and waited until she held the other woman's eyes before continuing. "He's not a terrorist. And you know me better than that."

"People change."

"Trust me. I am helping him, but he's not a terrorist. I'm doing the right thing."

Switch watched her for a moment, before shaking her head in aggravation and standing up, suddenly restless. She paced around for a moment, then took her coffee back to the kitchen and stood beside the counter, drinking slowly. This was Trinity, who had been her best friend for years. If there was one thing about her that stood out in her memory, it was how much she wanted to right every wrong she came across. Big or small, whether she would be able to change it or not, she always wanted to fix things. She even remembered a time, just after they had met, when two sixth-graders had been teasing one of the younger students for something she couldn't quite remember. Trinity had told them to leave the boy alone. They refused, and were given one week-long black eye each. Even though it had gotten Trinity herself into serious trouble, the younger boy never had more problems.

She knew Trinity better than anyone in the world. She knew the kind of things she felt she had to do, and what she did and did not consider worth it. Or at least.... she knew what it had been four years ago. Morpheus was mentioned every now and then, an article on the second or third page of the newspaper. There was almost always a body count - sometimes a staggering one. And if Trinity had been helping him, who was to say that she hadn't had a hand in that? Why were there so many deaths if he was not a terrorist? What kind of goal could Trinity set that would require such drastic measures?

She raised her eyes to the glass door of the cabinet, to the barely visible reflection of Trinity on the couch, watching her turned back. She looked away, and stayed against the counter. She didn't have any way to prove or disprove what she had been told. Most people would tell her that she had no obligation to believe a word of Trinity's story. Still, this was her best friend. She always had been, and the trust that had once existed between them had not completely faded in the last four years.

Slowly, she refilled her mug with coffee, and returned to her place on the end of the couch. "It's not like I'm under any obligation to believe you," she finally stated, blandly. "I don't have any proof that you're telling the truth. You certainly don't deserve my trust after what's happened since you left."

"I know." A very small smile appeared. She knew what Switch really meant, even without it being said.

"For God's sake, Trin," she said quietly, and Trinity smiled at the familiar, comfortable use of the nickname, "I thought you were dead."

Her eyes narrowed. "What?"

"Yeah." She still hadn't looked at her friend, and was rubbing tension out of her forehead. "Everybody did, until you started showing up when Morpheus did."

She waited before speaking, hoping her voice would make Switch look up, "How long have you been looking for him?"

"Started about a year after you left." She stared to the window now - still not meeting her friend's eyes. It was raining, the streaming water on the windowpane looking identical to the Matrix code, as seen in the real world. "Figured if you were dead, I could at least figure out what the son of a bitch had done with you."

"No." She shook her head. "He didn't -"

"Do anything to you." She sighed quietly. "I know, I know."

"He's really nice. You'll like him."

"Will I now?"

"You'll like most of them, once you meet them."

Switch eyed her suspiciously. Trinity was thinking, remembering the first time she had met each of them, trying to recall her initial impressions. She didn't remember most of those, as she had met most of them when she had just been unplugged, and those memories were part of a blurred, jumbled period in time. "And by the way," she said as a thought struck her, "you remember how I was always convinced something was seriously wrong with the world, and you never believed me?" She smirked. "I was right."

"I know."

Trinity looked up from her coffee, and slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Let's just say I'm not as skeptical as I used to be."

"When did this happen?"

She could have laughed. "I thought you were crazy. But then you left. Everyone was making too much out of it for that to be the case. And I thought about it. It doesn't seem like such an insane notion now."

"Well." She settled more comfortably into the couch. "Good to know you don't think I'm crazy anymore."

"Trinity," she laughed, "I know you're crazy. But now I also know you're not as crazy as I thought."

Both were laughing now, setting their cups on the coffee table so that they wouldn't spill. "I guess that's a -"

A shrill ring broke through their laughter and silenced them. Trinity's eye's fell shut, and a barely audible growl emanated from her throat. Standing from the couch and quickly moving to a corner of the room, she pulled the cell phone from her coat pocket and clicked it open. "Hello?"

"You've got about fifteen minutes before your shift is up and Morpheus comes out. You'd better get a move on."

"Tank," she said quietly, "it won't even take five minutes to get to the exit, I have plenty of time."

"You know Morpheus always comes out early." He sounded almost sympathetic.

"I know," she sighed, and hung up. She folded her arms across her chest, still clutching the phone and stared at the carpet. "Switch, I have to go."

"You just got -"

"I _know_," she snapped, still not turning around to face her. "I have to."

"Trinity," Switch began quietly, "what are you up to?" There was no tone of accusation in her voice. Only worry.

"I'll tell you, I promise." She sighed and turned as Switch came to meet her in the corner. "But it'll have to wait a while."

"How long?"

"Few weeks." She was still reluctant to meet her friend's eyes. "I probably won't see you until then." Her eyes were fixated on some point beyond the windowpanes as she prepared herself to leave - again - when Switch suddenly had her arms around her shoulders, hugging her tightly. It took a few seconds, but Trinity finally hugged her back, just as strongly. She broke away several long moments later. "I'll see you soon, Switch," she said quietly, and silently disappeared through the door.

---

Amelia climbed over her bed to the window, pressing her forehead against the glass. She could barely make out one side of Kelly's face, illuminated from the light of the open living room window. She seemed to sulking.

Glancing at her closed bedroom door, she pried the window open and climbed through it, making her way down the catwalk. She sat wordlessly, just a few feet from the other girl.

"I'm sorry I got you into trouble," she muttered. Kelly leaned away from her, resting her head on a hand and grumbling wordlessly. "How long are you grounded for?" she asked tentatively, trying to lighten the mood.

"A week."

"Oh." She waited, but nothing was said, so she ventured further. "I got a couple of days."

Silence.

"Are you mad -"

"My parents are so _stupid_!" she yelled, startling Amelia. "I'm not stupid enough to go wandering around by myself when I've never been here before, and they should _trust_ me, it's not like they didn't drill that into my head when we were driving here -"

Amelia slid a few inches to her left, away from Kelly.

"- and I didn't do anything _wrong_, I was with you -"

"Kelly -"

"- and fall break just started, so I can't even go to school for most of the day! I have to stay here _all_ _day_ and listen to my stupid brother _cry_!" She slumped against the brick wall, nearly blue in the face from her long-winded rant.

Amelia sat a foot or two away, staring at her, dumbfounded. She had not expected such a display.

Suddenly, as if on cue, a cry came from inside the apartment, whining and wailing. Kelly, in turn, slumped lower down the wall and covered her ears, moaning.

And then, for some reason she would never be able to explain, some feeling she would never be able to account for, Amelia burst out laughing, and could not bring herself to stop.


	16. Old Friendships

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Sixteen

Old Friendships

---

Switch readjusted the pillows behind her head, trying yet again to find a comfortable position to read in. It was getting to be ridiculous. She had already tried many different positions at the kitchen table, couch, every chair in the house, and still could not find comfort. And she had important reading to do. She had been behind in this class the previous semester, and she had promised herself that it wasn't going to happen again. She knew, though, that her problem had nothing to do with where she sat or how.

It was Trinity.

It had been nearly five weeks since she had simply shown up in her living room in the middle of the night, and she was starting to worry. She had tried not to - told herself a million times that if she could survive whatever she was up to for four years, she could certainly do it for another few weeks. But still.... It was a dream that had started it, really. She had gone nearly a week, somehow managing not to think of it much - consciously. Her subconscious, however, seemed to have different priorities, putting all the things Trinity had said together and trying to make some sense out of them. And, sure enough, it came up with something,

Switch barely remembered the dream, only the idea behind it, and now it was all she could do to keep the dream separate from reality in her head. Even that wall was slowly collapsing. In the dream, Trinity worked for the CIA. She wasn't able to tell Switch anything because it would put her life in danger. She was doing the right thing by helping Morpheus because she was helping the CIA track him, feeding them information, spying. And, in finding Switch, talking with her, she had made a fatal move, and her life was now at risk by Morpheus himself.

She tore her mind away from the very notion and forced her eyes onto the page, but they wouldn't focus. She sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes, hard, and then her temples. "Stop it, you're not helping anything," she grumbled to no one. "She's fine, she said it would take a while." The phone rang suddenly, startling her and nearly pushing her to the limit. "Go _away_."

"Hey," came her own voice from the answering machine after several rings. She slumped down low on the bed, textbook falling to the floor. "You've reached Kelly Miller - you know the drill."

"It's me." She immediately sat bolt upright, eyes fixating on the phone and ears listening intently. "I'm sorry it took so long. Go to the club on Minton, downtown. Blue Haven. Be there by eleven, wait for me at the bar."

The message ended, and Switch was already pulling on her coat.

---

She had not been waiting more than a few minutes, but she had already begun to grow impatient, taking only small sips of the drink she had ordered, frequently scanning the crowded club.

Trinity was late.

She checked her watch again - only 11:05. She leaned against the counter, drumming her fingers and again searched for Trinity. She was nowhere along the long bar, nowhere among the gyrating bodies on the dance floor, standing along the wall, nor at any of the small tables scattered around the edges of the room.

"Beer, please," came a voice to her left, barely audible over the din of the bar.

Switch smiled just a little, hiding it with the rim of her glass, instantly relieved. "I was beginning to worry about you."

"Now why -" Trinity leaned closer, taking her drink from the bartender, "-would you go and do a stupid thing like that?"

She laughed quietly and shook her head. "Five weeks," she said, barely looking to the other woman. "Plenty of time to think up a few very bad, very painful things that could have happened to you." She finally turned to see Trinity taking small drinks of her beer. It may have been years since they had really seen each other, but she could still see the hidden smirk in her friends face.

"Such as...?"

"Well," she said slowly, "it's long, and complicated, but I'll just say it involves terrorists, the CIA... you being some sort of double agent."

Trinity laughed. "Didn't I already tell you, Switch? He's not a terrorist."

"Mmhmm," she murmured, staring at the circle of condensation her glass had left on the countertop. "You did." Trinity was about to speak again, but she was cut off. "And don't think I don't know what you're doing. You're going to have to tell me what's going on sooner or later, it might as well be now."

She shut her eyes tightly and turned her head away.

"Trin."

She sighed heavily, but did not look up.

"Trinity, what's so bad about this? Why can't you just tell me -"

"Because we're going to be in enough danger over the next few hours as it is, I can't risk putting us in any more."

Switch, now slightly stunned into silence, simply watched her oldest friend for several minutes as she clearly wrestled with her own thoughts. Her nervous habit of running her hands through her hair had not left her. She noticed that it was longer now - closer to her shoulders, rather that cut short as it had been the entire time they had known each other.

Trinity finally made up her mind, and began to speak slowly. "Okay." She sighed. "You're going to come with me and some friends of mine, and... when we get there, you're going to have to decide whether you want to come stay here in New York, or come with us. Come with me."

She processed this quietly for a moment. "That doesn't sound like such a big deal."

"_Believe_ me, it is."

"...so what's the catch?"

"The catch is, whatever decision you make is final." She drank a little more of her beer, and continued. "There's no turning back either way. If you stay here -" She spoke these words with a hint of sadness and worry in her voice, "- we will probably never have any kind of contact with each other whatsoever for the rest of our lives. If you decide to stay, everyone I know will know the choice you've made, and it will never be offered to you again."

There was a long silence between them. Neither looked at the other the entire time. "And if I go with you?"

"Then you would be giving up everything." Her tone was many times graver than it had been before. "Your whole life, this entire world. School, family, friends, work, over-sweetened coffee, all of it. The only way out of the life you'd end up in would be suicide."

Switched laughed quietly, nervously. "It's that bad?"

"For some people," she admitted softly. "Probably not for you. But it is... _quite_ a change."

"You're making it sound like I'd be better off staying here...."

She didn't seem to be listening, and instead stared at some distant point on the wall. "Almost everyone in the world would be. But most people who feel what you feel, what I felt -" Trinity caught Switch's eyes to emphasize her meaning "-would tell you that the trade-off is well worth it."

They watched each other for a few moments, until Trinity suddenly turned away and pulled back the sleeve of her coat to check her watch. Switch caught a glimpse of it's face and saw that it was not even 11:30. "We need to get going." She stood and left some money on the counter, enough for both of their drinks. "I know it's not fair to you, but you won't have a long time to make your decision." As she spoke, she was already heading for the back-alley exit.

With only slight reluctance, Switch followed.

They slipped silently through the alley to an old, dark sedan waiting towards the end. Two men were waiting by it, one sitting on the hood, fiddling with his keys. The other was waiting farther into the alley, closer to the back door of the bar. He was the one who spoke.

"Trinity, how long does it take to just go in a bar and bring somebody out?"

She glared. "Get in the car. I'm not in the mood."

Trinity slid into the back seat on the drivers side, and Switch followed her into the right. When the two men were in the front seats, the car was started, and they drove out of the alley and onto the busy streets.

---

She turned her head slightly and looked at Switch out of the corner of her eye. She sat perfectly still, her arms folded tightly over her chest. Trinity couldn't see her face, but she knew she would find a look of intense concentration and thought if she could. Trinity slowly turned back, and her eyes fixated themselves onto the back of the driver's seat. She squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to ward of a sudden tightness in her chest, and as she did, she realized that she was absolutely terrified.

Trinity's first four years of freedom, the longest years of her life, had been spent alone in the real world. She had spend months establishing new relationships with everyone she met, a task that had proved to be anything but easy. She had become close to those people - they were practically family by now. She knew she could talk with them, confide in them, trust them with her darkest secrets, with her very life. But even so, it had not taken her long to realize what she had lost when she had left Switch years ago. There was simply something about them, about their friendship that she could not find in anyone else. Her attitude, insight an d the bond that had formed between them over six years was unique to Switch and no one else. She would never know how much the loss of that bond had changed her life these past four years.

Trinity honestly had absolutely no idea which pill Switch would choose. For the first week or two after she had found out she was one of the Resistance's new prospects, she had thought she knew. First, she was sure it would be the blue pill. It was before she had learned of her friends revelation, after all - and almost no one who didn't feel the error of the world would have taken the red pill. Even if it meant being with Trinity again, the sacrifice wouldn't have been worth it to her.

But after their meeting, after finding out that she _had_ sensed it, after seeing how happy she was that they could see each other again - there hadn't been a doubt in her mind that the choice would be red.

The more she thought about it, though, the more she realized that she was only looking at the most obvious factors in her friend's choice. Even if she had not realized the lie of the Matrix, there may still have been reasons for her to pick the red pill. Perhaps she would have wanted to find out where Trinity had been all these years and what could have compelled her to leave. Then again, she had established a life of her own since the last time they had met. It wouldn't be easy to leave that behind, even if the world was illusion.

Trinity thought that her mind would eventually settle on one possibility or the other, but she soon realized that it would not happen, as her thoughts and conclusions changed ridiculously often, even as much as several times a day. It had been driving her mad these past weeks. She simply could not keep her mind off it.

The car stopped suddenly and Trinity saw in her peripheral vision that Switch, too, had been lurched from thought. Both turned to each other almost simultaneously.

"Come on."

They stepped from the car into a motel parking lot. The motel was completely deserted, rundown. It was well off towards the edge of the city. It was a simple two level building running in a U-shape around the parking lot. In silence, both women walked side by side through the small lot and up the nearest staircase. They walked a little farther along the balcony, and Trinity stopped before one of the doors, her hand precariously resting on the knob for a moment.

"This is your decision, Switch," she whispered, almost more for herself than her friend. "I can't make it for you." As she swiftly opened the door, time began to blur as the fear seeped further into her consciousness. Switch followed a half step behind her.Morpheus introduced himself. The two women locked eyes briefly, and the next thing Trinity knew she was pulling the door shut again and walking down the balcony to the corner of the building. Inside the first room, the rest of the crew was preparing for the unplugging. She glanced back through the door as she closed it and began helping - slowly - with some random parts of the setup process.

Several times over the next few minutes, she finished or simply stopped what she was doing and pulled back the tattered curtain not more than an inch - only enough to see, over and over, that no one was coming, that they were not finished and the choice had not yet been made.

"Trinity," Cypher called from across the room. "You gonna help or not?"

She said nothing and let the curtain fall back into place. She moved to the dresser on the far wall, where several last-minute wire connections had yet to be made. Somehow, she had enough self-control to keep herself there, working, at least for some length of time. Then, _finally_, just when she was sure she would rush back to the window or lose her mind, the door squeaked as it opened. She did not turn, but simply looked to the mirror above the dresser.

When Switch looked as well, she smiled.

---

Earlier that day, trinity had asked Dozer when he thought Switch would come out of her comatose state. She had been moved from the infirmary after a week, adn they now continually checked up on her in her cabin. He had told her that it would only be a day or two, maybe less.

Trinity had kept closest watch over the past ten days, both in the infirmary and Switch's cabin, had been second only to Dozer when it came to tending to her. He had called her on it, but in his true brotherly fashion, had let the subject drom when she had made it apparent that she was not interested in explaining herself.

Trinity rolled over in bed and propped herself up on an elbow to see the digital clock on the wall above her desk. Late, but not time to check on her friend. Nonetheless, she decided now was as good a time as any, and slipped into her boots and sweater.

She plodded around the corner to the tiny cabin and slowly, so not to make a sound, turned the wheel and opened the door. She lay motionless on the small cot, still unconscious, the IV still attached to the plug in her arm. Trinity hadn't been expecting anything else, but has simply wanted to check on her friend. She leaned against the beaten dresser for a minute or two, watching, waiting for nothing in particular. Finally, she was somehow satisfied that Switch was in as healthy a state as before, and pried the door open again. This time she was not as careful, and it did make a sound. Just as she had opened it far enough to slip through, she heard the faint ruffling of the sheets, and a hurried, confused, "Trinity?"

She back-stepped into the room to find Switch awake, upright, and staring at her. A moment later, she quickly scanned the cabin. "Where are we?"

Her mouth opened and closed several times. What should she say? Was it really the best idea to tell her now? "I -"

"_Trinity_," she interrupted, seeing the same look she had see every time she asked what was going on. "_Where_ are we?"

"Switch, I -"

"Don't give me any of that shit, Trinity." She had swung her feet around to the floor, and was very angry. "I want a explanation, _now_. Everything you haven't told me. You owe me, you promised."

She was right. She had promised. And there was no talking her out of it this time, no, "I can't tell you now." She finally moved away from the door, to the bed, and picked up Switch's left arm. Switch, who had apparently noticed the IV but had not paid close attention, glanced around the room again as Trinity pressed the sides of the needle in, twisted and pulled. Switch yelped and tried to pull her arm away, but Trinity - by far the stronger of the two here - held her forearm firmly and removed the rest of the needle form her plug. Switch examined it closely. Trinity reached into the dark corner only a few feet away and set a pair of boots on the bed. "Put these on." Switch pulled her attention away from the black metal in her arm and slipped the boots on, tying them quickly. "And this," she said as she dropped a hat into her lap. She complied, not worrying much about her lack of hair. With some slight trouble standing at first, she made it into the hallway with Trinity, and they started off down the corridor.

In the mess hall, Trinity filled each of them a mug of water and they sta across from one another at the table.

It was several minutes before she spoke. "I'm not even sure I know where to start," she murmured.

"You can start by telling me what you put in my arm."

"No," she said, slowly shaking her head. "No, we didn't put that there, or any of the others." She didn't see the confused look from Switch, but explained further anyway. "There's another near your shoulder, the same thing on the other arm." Switch pushed up the other sleeve, and sure enough, found a matching plug in the same place. "There's three on each leg, two on your chest, two on your abdomen. Four on you back , about a dozen up your spine, and a larger one in the back of you head."

Her hand flew to her neck and found the cold, grooved circle of metal. She stared back at Trinity, wide-eyed.

"I have them, too. So does Morpheus and everyone else you met the other night. We didn't put them there," she repeated solemnly. "You were born with them."

For a moment, Switch's eyes stayed locked with Trinity's, and she was speechless. "What?" she finally managed to whisper.

Trinity sighed. "The one in the back of your head is used to transmit false sensory signals to your brain. So you think your seeing or hearing something or whatever, but you're not." She said this with her head down, and very cautiously looked up, and could see a hint of fear in her eyes. She remembered that fear all to well. "Everything you've known for the last twenty years, every single sense has been fed to you by a computer program. All of it, New York, your apartment, the food you ate, it was just an illusion."

"But... you -"

"Yeah, it's... it's basically one huge virtual reality. Your body was just a computer image based on scans and DNA analysis. Everyone else there is the same - they exist, but all you ever saw were minds controlling virtual bodies."

She was going to fast, getting ahead of herself. She didn't need to see Switch's face to know that, although her look spelled it out quite clearly. Trinity was quiet for a moment, trying to think of a way to rephrase this without confusion or misunderstanding.

How did Morpheus do this every time they freed a mind?

_Just go from the beginning_. "It's not the year that you think it is. We don't know the real date - our best guess is that it's about 2192." She wasn't entirely sure what to do with her hands. Somehow, holding the mug felt awkward. "About two-hundred years ago, they were able to invent artificial intelligence programs, use them in robot/ But they were pretty much treated like slaves, and they started to figure that they deserved better. They pretty much broke off form humans, started their own society. But that didn't help, a war eventually started. We were using nuclear weapons, but they didn't work, and we were loosing. So... some genius got the brilliant idea that since they were solar-powered, all we had to do to win was cut them off from the sun. So, somehow, they created a global storm to block out the sun. Still exists, too."

It was still an unbelievable truth, but at least Switch seemed better able to comprehend her this way. "Unfortunately that just gave them the perfect opportunity to come up with a way to kill two birds with one stone. They figured that they could use the bioelectricity from human nervous systems for power. Majority of them only needed minimal energy to run, so a few billion humans was more than enough." Each word she spoke became more and more difficult to say. It was almost as if, in saying the words, she was experiencing them. "The humans who survived the war were given the same plugs up their spines that you have, to collect the energy. To keep us from fighting and trying to escape, they created the Matrix, which is the program you've been living in all your life."

Trinity's mouth was suddenly very dry, and she drank nearly half of the water in her mug.

Minutes passed as Switch processed this new information. "Sow how was I born with... like this?"

"No one in the Matrix was born naturally," she sighed. "There are massive fields where we're... grown, basically." She cringed inwardly at the harshness of the word. "Plugs and all, and then we're put into the Matrix. Most people never leave. We do free some people," she continued, speaking very quietly now. "But we can't get everyone. Most people wouldn't want to leave, anyway.

Switch didn't need to ask why that was. She knew. And Trinity had been right, about what she said at the club.

"You don't believe me," Trinity finally said many long, long minutes later.

"I..." Did she? Could a false world really be constructed to be so convincing that almost no one would ever know it was a lie? Everything she had just learned made sense. It all added up. But... it went against everything any sane and rational person - Switch herself especially - would think was within the realm of possibility. "I don't... I'm not..."

"I know," Trinity said kindly. "Everybody's in denial at fist. It'll sink in eventually."

She scoffed quietly. She wasn't sure if she believed that either.

"Just give it a few days. In the meantime," she went on, getting up, "get some sleep. It'll help."

Switch tensed suddenly as she felt Trinity wrap her arms around tightly her shoulders and rest her chin on the top of her head.

"You'll be fine, Switch," she murmured soothingly, stroking her shoulder gently. "You trust me, don't you?"

That was the first time she had said that since they had been reunited. She had asked Switch to trust her, but not _if_ she trusted her. She hadn't thought about it, but knew the answer anyway. "Yes."

"Get some sleep." She released her, and walked with her back to her cabin, pointing out her own on the way, just in case she needed her. She then made her way back inside her room, and crawled back into bed for a few more hours' sleep.

Somehow explaining the past to Switch as she had made it seem much more real, and seemed to dispel the tiny, lurking doubt that all freed minds had at first that could sometimes last for years. Everyone she knew who had been free for any real length of time - Morpheus, Niobe, Aurora - had always said that, sooner or later, it would hit you - _really_ hit you. And as Trinity slipped off, she realized that, for her, that time had finally come.

---

When she met them, Switch was less than comfortable with the crew of the Nebuchadnezzar. She was simply polite to them at first, not speaking more than was necessary, and only carrying on real conversations with Trinity. Her first experience with the crew had been very much the same, she said. She had spoken to them little, and it had taken a few weeks to become comfortable with them, longer to really consider them confidantes and friends. Switch would come to trust them, in time. She did, and sooner than Trinity by her own account. Some became her friends quicker than others, but it did not take long for all of them to be in good standing with her.

They first docked in Zion about two weeks after her first night of consciousness in the real world. There she met Ghost, as well as Tank and Dozer's family, along with several other people from the Resistance.

They did not train her during those first two weeks. Generally, they said, training did not begin until after your the visit to Zion, so that she could make the choice of whether to join the crew, or stay and work in the city. Switch was quite certain, though, that she already knew what she wanted to do. Living and fighting as a soldier had been much of what she spoke about with Trinity, and later, the rest of the crew. But she did agree to reserve her decision until after she had seen Zion. But of course, it did not change her mind. It had not taken her long to realize that, although living on a cold, cramped ship with the same people for months on end would be far from easy, she could handle it much better than being stuck in a city doing little of real value for the rest of her life.

After three weeks in Zion they returned to the ship, and Switch began her training. They started off with combat, as usual. It went well enough, and she did have the ability to fight, but when she began her weapons training, it became apparent that that was her _real_ talent. She was one of the better shots on the crew, and each time she went into a training simulation, she did better and better.

Apoc was her best match in skill, so, more and more, she trained with him, rather than the other crewmembers. She started off as merely his student, and then became the competition. But over several weeks, they became friends. And although she said nothing to Trinity or anyone else, after a few more weeks, it began to develop further. It continued this way through her second stay in Zion, though she did not act on her feelings, even upon their return to the Neb.

It was at that time that Morpheus decided that she was ready to go back into the Matrix. It was a relatively simple mission for Switch, Trinity, Morpheus and Niobe, and although it ended in a confrontation with local police - and a few Agents - they all made it out unharmed. That evening, Trinity came into her room to congratulate her on her first run. She came with two cups of some bitter-tasting alcohol for a toast, and apologized for not having something better. They stayed there for a long time, talking, mainly of Trinity's first return to the Matrix - and how it really wasn't the Matrix at all. She told Switch how afraid she had been during the test simulation, how angry she had been when she found out it wasn't real, what she had done. She had wondered, then, why Trinity had been trained right when she was unplugged, while Switch had been advised to wait. She simply answered that Morpheus and the others knew that she would want to become a soldier, and she had said things to that extent more than once.

"Still," Switch pressed her, "why the rush?"

"Morpheus just thought that I..."

"What?"

She shook her head. She didn't want to say. Instead, she only said that Morpheus thought she had a lot of talent, and pushed her a bit farther and faster than he should have. A short while later their conversation finished, they said goodnight and Trinity went off to her own cabin. Things continued normally after that.

And then came the day, a week before she was to return to Zion for her third time, when Morpheus announced that he would be taking her to the Oracle.

---

"Who is the Oracle, anyway?" Switch asked Trinity as they waited to jack in. "She's not a _real_ oracle, right?"

"Actually, she is. Well... supposedly, anyway."

"You haven't seen her?"

"No, I've seen her," she corrected. "Twice." She thought back on both meetings, shaking her head at both the woman's audacity and at her enigmatic words.

"Do you remember what got us into this mess?" she asked. "How I even found out about Morpheus?"

"Crazy old Bird Lady in Central Park," she replied, remembering the image she had conjured in her head from Trinity's description.

Trinity raised an eyebrow ever so slightly. Switch's eyes immediately widened. "_She_ was the Oracle?"

Trinity nodded. "She said she told me about him because I would make a good addition to the Resistance, and -" She stopped short. She trusted Switch, but this.... It was just so... so impossible, among other things.

"And what?"

"Nothing." But then, why not tell her something ridiculous and impossible?

"What is it? Tell me."

"Most people generally keep what she tells them to themselves," she said, very evenly.

Despite her curiosity, Switch took the hint and began the setup as the rest of the crew trickled in.

"And don't worry if you have no idea what she's talking about," she added. "It takes some people years to figure it out." Both women sat back in their chairs along with the rest of them, and Dozer came around to plug each one in.

---

Morpheus had offered to let Trinity take Switch up to the apartment. But, with a look of apprehension Switch could barely see, she opted out, and Morpheus took her. In the elevator, she wondered at her friend's discomfort. What had she been told that was so bad that she couldn't tell her? Why didn't she want to come up? _She_ wasn't the one who would be speaking with her. In the end, though, she decided to leave it alone - Trinity could take care of herself. She knew what she was doing - whatever that was.

They stepped out of the elevator and she followed Morpheus down the hall. She was surprised when a door opened only a moment after they stopped, and before they had even knocked. They stepped into the apartment, and Switch made her way to the living room while Morpheus and the woman at the door exchanged brief salutations.

The thought of a temple seemed impossible in the middle of a city - she wasn't sure what she had expected. Perhaps an elaborate Victorian house overrun with vines and a dozen trees on the property. But even though that had been proved wrong, even though they were in an apartment, she had expected something more... She wasn't sure what word would describe her mental image. But she thought she would see, if nothing else, incense, dark rooms with heavy curtains, statues of Greek gods. A crystal ball in a corner, at least. Instead she found a living room, like any other, filled with forty-year-old furniture. If she wasn't mistaken, her grandparents had that exact coffee table.

She waited there, along with several others, who she didn't pay much attention to. Instead she wondered what the Oracle would say to her, but she really didn't have the faintest idea. For a while, she watched the kids go into a hallway, and reappear a few minutes later. Some other people arrived and waited as well.

Eventually, the same woman who had opened the door came up to her. "She's ready for you now." She directed her to the short hallway off one end of the room, and motioned her to follow it to the next room. It did not lead to any room like she had pictured early, but instead it took her to the kitchen, and aside from a bead curtain at the entrance, it matched the rest of the apartment in it's normalcy.

The Oracle had her back turned to the doorway, and was making coffee at the counter. Anyone who saw her wouldn't look twice - she looked like a stereotypical grandmother who played Bingo every Saturday.

"So you're the one responsible for this, huh?" she asked casually, staying in the doorway.

"Yep. That'd be me."

Switch looked around a bit more carefully, examining both the kitchen and the Oracle herself. It was all too _average_, too every-day. There was no way this woman was going to tell her a prophecy about her life.

"Yeah, I know," the old woman said. In response to what? "That's about the same reaction I get from everybody. This isn't anything like what you were expecting."

Switch stared, startled that she knew what she was thinking - until she realized, everyone must picture something like what she had, or at least something other than this. It was an easy guess; and she said herself that she got that reaction all the time. "Yeah," she said. "Sure."

"But then, we can't go around judging things by appearance, can we?" Her tone was meaningful, as if she had heard the last thought as well, and a shred of belief slipped back into Switch's mind. Stranger things had happened to her in the last two months than a psychic woman.

She tried to ignore it, though, habit and old beliefs overpowering the woman's tone. "Look, there's a lot of other people outside who I'm sure are looking forward to this a hell of a lot more than I am, so just do your little prophecy bit and lets get this over with."

"I've got all the time in the world," she said, coming up and handing her the mug she had prepared earlier. "Plenty of sugar in it for you."

She eyed the Oracle, more suspicious and nervous now, and slowly took the coffee from her hands.

"You shouldn't be so quick to mistrust, Switch. Doesn't do anybody any good."

"I'll decide that."

She took a cigarette from the pack on the counter and lit it. She smiled a little, secretive smile. "You know," she said, "a lot of people come in here with some pretty strange assumptions about what I'll say to them. Not necessarily about what I'll tell them is going to happen, but about what it means." Switch drank her coffee and shook her head. "They think that they'll do something important or something completely worthless, or that what I say will happen no matter what, or that something horrible will happen if they don't somehow make it come true."

"I'll bet they do," she said sarcastically. _All the hype around you, I'm not surprised_.

"Those ones worry too much. Fact of the matter is, things just have a way of working out, so long as we're willing to help them along a little."

Switch rolled her eyes. "Is there a point somewhere in this speech?"

The Oracle simply smiled.

"Because I think you should probably know that I don't appreciate anybody telling me what'll happen to me when I don't even know myself. I especially don't like them telling me what to do."

"I'm not here to tell you what to do, I'm just here to help end the war, do my part. Same as you'll do yours."

Switch put her half-empty mug down on the table and stood by it, folding her arms. "Did it ever occur to you that some people might be better off figuring out what to do on their own?"

"Oh, I know that. Some people just need a push in the right direction and they'll manage just fine from there. Others need a lot of help on some things. Lot of support." She left her cigarette resting on the ashtray at the table and sat down across from where Switch still stood. "But I'm sure you'll be up to giving that support."

"So I'm supposed to be the Neb's resident therapist?"

The Oracle laughed.

"I'm going to be a soldier, when do you propose I find time for that?"

"Oh, I don't mean for everyone. But there will be someone you love, very much. The most difficult time of their life will end up being by far the most crucial. Anyone would need a hand in a situation like that.

"But like I said," she smiled, taking a drag of her cigarette, "I think you'll be up to the challenge. Other than that," she finished, putting the cigarette out, "you're free to find your own way."

Switch sensed that the conversation had ended, and after studying the Oracle for a moment, she turned, all to happy for the encounter to be over.

"Do me a favor," the Oracle said, and Switch paused. "Tell Trinity not to worry so much, will you?"

She stayed quiet for a second, then continued through the doorway. "Sure."

---

Trinity quickly pulled on her shirt as she rushed to open the door. Switch waited on the other side, and peeked in as Trinity hurried back to her dresser, pulling a few things from a small metal box on top.

"You ready?"

She hurriedly clasped a bracelet around her left wrist, and an anklet around her right ankle. "Yeah." She thought for a moment, and thought of something else. "Come here."

Switch met her at the dresser as she pulled out a necklace from the box, and clasped it around her friend's neck. It was nothing more than a simple chain with a polished stone pendant, but it suited her.

"Are you sure this is basically a mass rave?" she called to Trinity, who was combing her hair in the bathroom. "I've heard people mentioning speeches."

"Those are only during the first few minutes." She slipped on a simple pair of sandals, and they headed out the door. "These things last for hours, you'll have plenty of time to dance."

They closed the door behind them and followed several other people around to the central elevator. When they reached it, they joined another group, also waiting to go down. The pair leaned against the railing as they waited.

"Just so you know, I always dance with Ghost whenever we're docked at the same time. And Tank, and a few other people I know."

"And?" Switch prompted as the doors slid open and they stepped into the elevator.

"And I was just wondering if you knew who you wanted to dance with while I'm with someone."

"I'm a big girl, Trin," she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "I can take care of myself."

She grinned very slightly, but managed to hide it well enough. "You don't have anyone in mind then?"

Switch let her breath out slowly. Trinity wasn't usually this... was there a word for what she was being? "If you have something to say, say it."

The grin became just barely visible. "I'm just saying that if you have anyone in particular that you want to dance with, you should just ask them. They'd probably say yes." Switch sighed. She knew what Trinity was getting at. "But I wouldn't bet that they'd be willing to ask you if they wanted to dance. So you'd have to do it."

She glared at Trinity out of the corner of her eye. That was one of the few downsides to a friendship like theirs - if there was something either wanted to keep secret from the other, it was nearly impossible.

They rode the rest of the way down in silence, Trinity only speaking a brief greeting to Ghost when he stepped into the elevator. The doors finally opened at the lowest level and they entire group made their way to the massive stone entrance to a cavern. She was instructed to take off her shoes and set them down with all of the others. As she was doing so, she saw Trinity go up to Ghost and whisper something to him quickly. They then broke apart; he went in, and she waited for Switch. They made their way inside and found a place near the back, off toward the edge. They listened rather impatiently to several people give speeches, which they paid little attention to.

Ten or fifteen minutes after they arrived, the speeches ended, and a cheer rang up as the drummers started playing. "Finally," Switch said, turning to Trinity. But Ghost had just reached her, and she heard him ask Trinity to dance, and she followed him into the crowd. She turned back smiling and nodded towards something behind her friend just before she disappeared.

Switch grumbled something and turned to scan the area behind her. She began to grow impatient when she could not see what she might possibly have been motioning at - and saw, among a group of people she did and did not know, Apoc.

She shook her head. "Trinity, Trinity," she muttered. "So pushy."

She watched him talking, and debated for a moment. The very thought of asking him... it made her so anxious. Made her nervous. At the same time, though, she knew she really had no reason to be. Like her, Apoc had dropped several hints over the last few months that would suggest something a little more than friendship. If, somehow, those hints had not been what she thought, he did not have anyone to dance with, and neither did she. If necessary, she could pass it off as a simple dance between friends. With that, she steeled herself and slipped through the thin groups of people and stood behind him.

"Dance with me?" she asked, loud enough to be heard over the drums. He turned, a little surprised, and was met with a genuine smile. After a moment, he grinned back, and they made their way into the dancing masses.


	17. Neo

Death and Rebirth

Chapter Seventeen

Neo

---

Again, Trinity stopped typing. She flexed the fingers of her left hand, wincing at the pain it sent through the dull soreness of her forearm. She finally gave in, deciding she needed more aspirin. _Damn cops_, she thought as she got up and dug a small bottle of pills from her to dresser drawer. She took one with the water sitting on her desk. _Damn cops and their damn bullets._

Tossing the pulls back into the drawer, she sat back down at her computer, massaging her arm for a moment before she continued her work. When she did, she was barely able to type out three words when there was a knock at her door. It came again before she could even stand, and added with the sore arm, that made her somewhat irritated. She turned the wheel of the door, and found herself face-to-face with Morpheus - just about to knock a third time.

"Trinity," he said, a little surprised.

"What do you need?" she asked after moment of silence, wanting to finish her work soon.

"I'd like you to come up to the Core for a few minutes. There's something important I need to discuss with you." She nodded, and he turned and headed down the hall.

Trinity went back to the computer and saved her work, then pulled on two sweaters that had been thrown haphazardly on her bed.

As she climbed up to the main deck, her slight annoyance at being bothered so late at night was automatically pushed to the back of her mind by her second-in-command mindset, habit after so many years with the position. She stood behind the operator's chair, very professional in her posture, as she waited for Morpheus to finish the search on the console, watching the subject the computers locked onto in the Matrix. She couldn't discern much from the pure code, only that it was a man, dark hair, fairly tall, in a sweatshirt, carrying a grocery bag down the street.

"I found this man about a week ago. He was watching one of the chatrooms about the Matrix."

"What'd he say?"

"Nothing. But he was also working on a program at the time. Virus, very good one. I did some digging, and I found out he's a program writer, and aside from being late quite a bit, he's very good at it."

"So?" Trinity asked, waiting for him to get to his point. "Plenty of those out there. What makes him so special?"

"He works for Metacortex."

_Well. Impressive_. "So, what is he? Executive or something?"

"No. Just a programmer."

She folded her arms and looked down for a minute before saying, "Morpheus, forgive me, but I fail to see what makes this man so worthy of our time." She reached over and brought up the almost nonexistent file Morpheus had created. As she scanned it, her expression turned to a slight frown. "Is this age correct?"

"It is."

"Morpheus," she said, speaking more authoritatively, as she so often did without knowing it. "You can't possibly be thinking of unplugging this man."

"I know he doesn't seem like much, Trinity, but I think he could be very helpful to us. He's aware of the Matrix; I want you to watch him for me, find out what information we would be able to trade for his help."

She watched the man - Thomas Anderson, she saw from his file - as he walked into his building and down a hall to his apartment. It seemed very small and disorganized.

"You're not telling me something," she said flatly, as if she didn't expect an answer. "When do you want me to start?"

He did not respond to her accusation. "First thing tomorrow."

---

Tom stabbed the chopsticks into the half-full carton of noodles and reached behind his back to straighten out the pillows a bit. Leaning back again, he picked up the remote and changed the channel once again. It landed on the news, and he resigned himself to the fact that there was nothing good on, and left it there. Through the weather and a story about a bank robbery a few streets down, he paid little attention.

"... After several months of relative inactivity, the terrorist who calls himself Morpheus lead a group attack on Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona this afternoon...." Tom stopped eating, and paid full attention to the anchorwoman. "...with a group of two other men and two women. Swat teams were on the scene immediately after a ticket clerk recognized him." A few security tapes were shown as she continued speaking, showing them as they went about whatever they were doing there, and realized that they had been caught. "Several of the officers apprehending them were killed in a gun battle, but luckily no civilians were seriously injured." More security tape, of the fight she was talking about. "One of the women did receive a slight bullet wound to her left arm, but it was not enough to slow her down. All five of them managed to escape. Phoenix police and FBI are still on high alert..."

The segment ended, and he finished off the last half of his noodles slowly, ignoring the rest of the broadcast. He left the empty carton and chopsticks on the bedside table, and went to the tiny bathroom. As he brushed his teeth - with almost the last of the toothpaste, he noticed - it took him only a moment to decide not to go online that night. Up until a few months before, the slightest mention of anything related to Morpheus or the Matrix would have had him forsaking hours of sleep, convinced that _that_ would be the night that he had a breakthrough. But more recently....

It had taken him a while to realize that he had come to a stall. It was as if he knew everything there was to know about the Matrix, or at least, knew everything that every other hacker online knew. He had stopped finding any new information a long time ago. Now, going online meant re-reading articles he had almost memorized by now, hearing the same theories as always in chatrooms, and, ultimately, drifting to sleep at his computer feeling nothing but disappointment. He wasn't up to that tonight. Instead, he simply turned out the light, switched off the TV, and crawled into bed.

Would he ever discover the truth?

---

In the future, the slightly corny thought would briefly cross her mind that that morning had been the beginning of the end, for her and everyone else. She would look back and think that everything had been set in motion that day. For now, though, she was only following orders, reporting to the main deck as soon as she woke up to observe Thomas.

The first day, during both the morning and evening shifts, was uneventful. He hit the snooze button twice, slept in ten minutes late. He brushed his teeth and dressed a little hastily, and put two frozen waffles in the toaster as he put seemingly random pieces of paper into a small, worn briefcase. She noticed that his apartment was even smaller than she had thought the night before, and more disorganized, too. He poured syrup over the waffles and ate them standing at the counter, even though there was a table off in the corner. He made it to the bus stop with a few minutes to spare, and sat alone in the back when it came. When he got to work, Trinity wondered again how this man could possibly be of any use to them. He spent the rest of her shift working on the coding for some program. Her evening shift was equally uneventful - he came home on the bus, ate his dinner, and didn't do much for the rest of the evening.

The next day was the same, and the next. The only thing she learned about him was that he was far from being the life of the party, and that, if asked, he would help his landlady with a chore or two. She seemed to like him much more than Trinity did. It took Thomas nearly a week to go online, and even then, all she learned was his alias - Neo.

She still could not see what Morpheus did. He did not go online as much as she had expected - certainly much less than other people she had known in a similar situation. When she watched him, she did not see a brilliant programmer and hacker, yearning for the truth and willing to go to great lengths to find it. The only thing she saw was an average man in a rut with very little excitement in his life, who just happened to work for a software company and know about the Matrix.

---

Trinity's skepticism about Morpheus' rationale for profiling Thomas only increased when the rest of the crew learned of him a few days after she began watching him. They weren't buying it much more than she was. He was only a programmer, even if he did work for Metacortx. He was a good hacker, true, but they unplugged almost nothing _but_ hackers. His explanation simply didn't add up.

There was muffled disapproval of what Morpheus was doing, worry that he would try something they all knew he shouldn't, as he was apt to do sometimes. A few ideas and theories popped up amongst the crew, and they questioned him on them, though not in so many words. None of their efforts paid off however, being met with a simple denial of whatever particular idea they were presenting at the time, or a reiteration of his explanation. The crew quickly gave up asking Morpheus himself, and settled for trying to figure it out in their own minds. Cypher, on the other hand, did not seem content to leave it be.

"You don't honestly believe that bullshit Morpheus is feeding us about why we're watching this guy, do you?"

"I don't," Trinity said simply, hacking into Thomas' computer, to check see what he had worked on when he had stayed home 'sick' that day. "But he told me to watch him, and until I figure out what's going on, that's what I'm going to do."

"You don't think he'll just end up using whatever you find out to do something he shouldn't?"

"No. Nothing too drastic, at least."

He leaned back against the console and watched her work over her shoulder. After a moment, he stared off into the dim light at the far end of the Core. "I think he's going to try to unplug him."

Trinity stopped typing abruptly. She stared at him for several seconds, but he did not go on. "He's too old."

"Amazingly enough, Trin, I don't think that'll stop him."

"Morpheus may not be the textbook definition of sane, Cypher," she said as she turned in her chair to face him more directly, "but he wouldn't do something so stupid. At his age, he'd die in just a few days and we'd never be able to get any help from him. At least he _would_ die in a few days, if we even managed to pull him from the sewers alive."

"C'mon, Trin -"

"Don't call me that."

"- you know as well as I do, you don't watch someone to get their help while they're inside. An Agent gets them, the Agent gets us. Whatever Morpheus does, it'll be stupid."

"He can be a little hasty sometimes, I'll admit," she said coldly, defensively, glaring at the back of his head, "but this is obviously important to him. He wouldn't jeopardize it like that."

He met her glare for a moment, then shrugged. "Whatever," he said, walking off. "You know him better than me."

---

Over the course of the next few weeks, things changed - slowly. She did not even truly realize these changes for some time, not until nearly a month had passed, when Morpheus asked for a report on what she had learned so far. When she sat down at the computer in her cabin that night, she realized just how differently she now saw him.

When she was asked for the report, she had no idea what to write. But as she sat down at the computer in her cabin that night, she realized just how much she had learned about him, and just how differently she now saw him. Her mental image of him had changed completely. Where he was once an empty man, nearly dead inside and going through the motions of a meaningless life, he was now simply a lost man, lonesome as he continued to search for his way in life. But he was as alive as anyone she had ever met, even if he did not always seem that way. He also cared about his search for the Matrix much more than she had realized at first. Thinking of his actions and habits during the past weeks, it seemed to her now that his search was what gave him the appearance of an empty man. The rift in the Matrix plagued him to the point of becoming the center of his life, consuming every free moment he had.

Trinity stopped typing then. She felt sorry for him. There was always somewhat of a craze to escape the Matrix in those who could sense it. It was stronger in him than in almost anyone else she had ever seen. She assumed it was because he had felt it longer, being older than most, and that was why she pitied him. He was much too old to be unplugged. Even if they were to free him, he wouldn't be able to handle reality. If she were to check on him a few years from now, she knew she would find him locked away in some asylum, or dead, having been driven to suicide. She pitied him because he had no way out.

She set to typing again, pushing away those thoughts and her sudden guilt, knowing that they were only going to use him.

Between watching Neo and her other duties around the ship, Trinity managed to give Morpheus the report just before she went to bed, three nights after he had asked for it. She fell asleep thinking of Thomas.

---

He was with her.

She didn't know it from his face. She had only ever watched him in code, never from within the Matrix, and she had not looked at the image of his RSI in weeks. Rather, she sensed that she was not alone, and simply knew it was him. He came into focus, standing a few feet from her. He seemed almost faceless, yet his features reflected his image, compiled from the Matrix code. He had eyes but the fact that they were not truly his - she knew this undoubtedly - sent a quiet, fleeting longing through her.

She didn't think she commanded her body to move, but she stepped closer nonetheless. He did the same, and smiled at her just a little. Her heart fluttered a little, surprising her. Her instinct to suppress the feeling, her fear of it, almost, and the confusion were all forgotten as she gave in to her sudden desire to touch him. She put one hand to his cheek, gently. He smiled more widely, and an elated grin began to tug at her lips as she stroked his cheek with her thumb.

She wasn't entirely sure of what happened next, wasn't sure if she leaned in first or if it was him. She did not even realize what was happening. But the next thing she knew, they had come together in a kiss.

The alarm she felt was almost nothing, and it quickly fell away into nothingness as she fell further and further into the kiss. Somehow, it simply felt _right_ that she should be doing this. Regardless of her rank and duty, regardless of the emotionless mask she sometimes forced herself to wear. This was right. He pulled her closer, resting his hands on her hips and she realized that this was the most lighthearted she had felt in quite some time. The kiss deepened, and it continued for what seemed like an eternity. It finally subsided, and they slowly broke apart. Smiling at the tingling her lips still felt, she slowly opened her eyes, not to see him smiling back...

...But to the dark metal of her cabin ceiling. She blinked many times, and when her eyes adjusted to the darkness, her mind had returned to its regular state - authoritative, in complete control of herself and her surroundings, and in complete shock at the dream she had just awakened from.

She lay in bed, dumbfounded, for some time. Where had that come from? She had never thought of him as anything more than another prospect before. She had certainly never thought of him in a romantic sense. So what the hell was this?

Her alarm soon went off. She forced herself to get up, and put it out of her mind. By the time she finished dressing, she had actually convinced herself that the dream held no significance whatsoever.

---

The dream had been nothing more than strange, but not unexpected. She was the First Officer of a Resistance ship; even she got lonely every now and again. She had just been watching him too much, and had made herself feel sorry for him. It was as simple as that. She hadn't thought anything of it, and has practically forgotten about it by that afternoon.

As it turned out, though, it was not to be the last dream. She had another a few nights after the first, almost exactly the same. This one made her wonder for a while, but this one, too, quickly ceased to worry her. She didn't even have to try to stop thinking about it.

It was when she had the third dream that she started to worry. It wasn't so much the fact that she was having such an uncharacteristic dream for the third time - although that was part of it - as what actually happened in the dream. It was like the two before it, but this time, when they separated, she did not wake up. He smiled at her, the same as before, then leaned close to her again to whisper something in her ear. She never heard what he said, unfortunately, because the sentinel alarm sounded just then.

Amidst the stress the Sentinels brought with them, she did not even realize that she had had the dream until that evening, when she was working a few bugs out of some new programs for the ship. Remembering stopped her cold, and she sat there for several minutes, trying to determine if she had actually had such a dream.

_What was he going to say_? She wondered as soon as she began to dome out of her daze. As much as she tried, she couldn't come up with any possibilities.

The dream did not come again the next night, nor for several nights following. As she watched him during that time, she continued to search for a reasonable explanation for having the dream yet again. It took the whole time to realize that she was truly wondering was what he was going to say. She only realized this after nearly a week, when she really began driving herself crazy.

---

She wanted to pull away, to ask him what he was going to say to her, but she didn't want to risk that it would stop him from doing so. And, more than she would admit or realized, she was enjoying the kiss. They stayed this way much longer than before, but he did eventually pull away. He looked at her and smiled softly. His eyes bothered her even more now.

He leaned over to her again, just next to her ear... but he said nothing.

"What?" she finally asked.

She felt him shake his head. "I shouldn't tell you now." He kissed her neck softly, just below her ear. "Another time."

For the fourth time, Trinity woke to the darkness of her cabin.

---

The dreams did not stop after that. Rather, they became more frequent... and more intense. She soon stopped realizing that they were dreams until she woke. The light, euphoric feeling they brought her always faded soon after she awakened, however.

How long had she kissed him this time? She rolled over to face the wall. The sheets rolled with her, and her back was left exposed to the Neb's persistently cold air, but she didn't pay attention. Why, for God's sake, _why_ wouldn't these dreams go away? Why the hell did they even begin, in the first place?

A thought had been floating around in her head for days. She had tried to suppress it, but had only partially succeeded, and now was failing completely. It was completely unlike her, unlike the kind of independent, self-sufficient person she had always been. But hate it as she might, she could not deny to herself the possibility that she had actually developed an attraction to a man she had never met. The very prospect made her picture herself as some gushing twelve-year-old with a crush on the "cute" member of some boy band. It was absurd, by why else would the dreams persist as they had? Why not do what dreams were supposed to, move past the kiss, and help her to realize and overcome some problem she had been faced with of late? An instant later, she shut her eyes tightly against the thought that that might be exactly what the dreams were doing.

She loathed Cypher for this. He was the one who made her think of it in the first place.

"Do you ever sleep?" Cypher asked as he leaned around her. He opened a drawer at the bottom of the console, and put away a disk he had been working on.

"My shift isn't finished yet."

He loomed behind her shoulder. She could feel him watching her.

"Are you going to say something or just stand there and stare at me?"

"Awfully long shift." He paused, and Trinity tensed slightly, wondering was he would say next. "Why do you watch him so much?"

"Morpheus asked me to."

"He never asked you to do it alone. Have someone else take a shift or two."

Trinity barely had time to ask herself why she hadn't done exactly that when Cypher answered the question for her.

"If I didn't know you any better I'd say you had a thing for him."

He said this as he left, so he never knew that she didn't answer because she sat in shock, knowing that he may very well have been right. For days after, she could not force herself to stop asking why she had not split some of the duty of watching him among the other crewmembers. Morpheus wouldn't have minded, nor would the rest of the crew. They would have been more than willing to help.

_She _was the one who would have minded.

---

"_Trinity_," Switch called for the third time. "Wrench?"

Trinity came out of her daze, and handed it to her. She wasn't really working on the repairs; she just came down without saying anything. But Switch would not have her down there and doing nothing.

"Should I be worried about you?" she asked.

Trinity didn't register the question at first, and when she did, she wasn't sure what to say. She tried to speak several times, but couldn't force herself. "I'm just starting to wonder what Morpheus is going to do with Neo," she finally admitted.

"'Starting' to wonder?" she laughed. "Newsflash, Trinity, he's been lying to us about him the whole time."

"I just thought I'd have figured out what was really going on by now," she said quickly. "It's not like him to keep secrets from me."

Switch smirked. "He probably wants to do something really stupid with the Coppertop and doesn't want you talking him out of it."

Fear suddenly flared in Trinity's mind at the idea.

"You'll find out soon enough, though. Morpheus can't drag this out forever."

After severally minutes, she finally made up her mind. "I have work to do," she said quietly, standing up to leave.

"When did you start calling him Neo?" Switch called after her.

"What?"

"You called him Neo," she explained. "You always called him Thomas before."

Again, Trinity said nothing. There was nothing she _could_ say. She never called prospects by their hacker names. She hated to think why she might have started now.

"Not starting to worry about the Coppertop, are we?"

She became defensive. She didn't want anyone to know about her situation - not even her best friend. "Just a slip of the tongue."

She must not have been very convincing, though, because there was a sudden tension between them, and Switch looked at her with worry for a long time. "You plan on telling me what's wrong?"

"This was the last thing she wanted. Even though the details were still a secret, the fact that another person knew about this somehow made it real, and it took away the possibility that it might go away on its own. "Nothing's wrong," she muttered. She opened the door, but only managed to walk halfway through it.

"Why are you lying to me, Trinity?"

She gave no reply and left.

---

Feeling anger toward him was ridiculous, especially as he was now. He sat alone at a table in the park a block away from his office building, reading a paper someone had left there earlier. He was slowly consuming a sandwich from a little deli down the street. He was perfectly serene this way, harming no one, causing no trouble, and yet Trinity sat on her motorcycle across the street, mulling over her anger.

She was in this whole ugly situation because of him. Sleep, concentration, self-control, her ability to function, fight and lead, all had suffered because of this man. He was playing games with her mind, tormenting her, and leaving her with so many unanswered questions. He left her feeling a million disconcerting new things that had no right to pass through her mind.

Part of her wanted to go over there now and beat it out of him, as though that would somehow make him stop, force him to leave her in peace. She very well may have, if he hadn't looked as he did just then. Even as far away as he was, she could see his face, and she could not remember seeing anyone that lonely in many, many years.

_You only have yourself to blame_, she thought, feeling a horrible pang of guilt. _He didn't do a damn thing. _You_ spent too much thinking about him, _you_ got attached, _you_ brought him into your dreams_. She could barely stand to look at him anymore, and her eyes found themselves looking at the pavement beneath her boots. _He didn't do anything. He doesn't even know you exist._

She forced herself to look up again, and watched him for a long time.

There was no point in denying it anymore. She couldn't, at any rate. Cypher had given her the idea in the first place, but she knew it would have occurred to her sooner or later. She honestly didn't believe it was true, at first. She didn't even remember half of the explanations she had come up with, but none of them convinced her. The longer she denied it, the more she ultimately knew it was true, and the more terrifying it became. That she could remember, she had not had even one tiny childhood crush in her life - little else could be more out of character for her than this. Nothing was more out of character than for her to allow this to happen.

And for that, she hated herself more than she ever had in her entire life.

---

She didn't turn the light on. There was no point. On or off, it didn't change the dream.

It had started off the same as each and every other, but when they broke the kiss, he didn't say anything, not even to tell her she wouldn't want to hear. She wanted him to say something, anything, but after what seemed like forever, he still remained quiet. So, finally, Trinity decided that _she_ would say something.

"I love you."

It had felt right in the dream, like she'd wanted to say it for her entire life. But now, as she sat awake in the dark, it was that feeling that terrified her. Dreams revealed the deepest, most closely guarded emotions a person held. What other explanation could there be now? What was to be gained in denying it any further? Why say the words, even in a dream, if she didn't mean them?

It made perfect sense. It explained her every unexplainable action and emotion since Morpheus had first told her about him. Still, she hoped, prayed, desperately, that there was some other reason. But that hope was shattered when, the next night, Neo whispered the same words back to her.

She could do nothing but obsess over it for days. She wasn't able to finish a single task on the Neb on time, and she was sure none of the crew believed the excuse that she was becoming sick, least of all Morpheus. Even so, he didn't press her on the issue, and assigned her less important tasks, the ones that did not need to be completed so quickly. Trinity hated the attention, hated seeming so obviously weak and pathetic and helpless in front of everyone, but at the same time, she was grateful. The rest of the crew, however, was not so content to let her slide. There were plenty of questions, which soon became rhetorical because she would either lie or say nothing. Cypher badgered her several times, but finally gave up. She caught Switch giving her worried, sometimes suspicious looks. Dozer, though, did just what she would have guessed he would do. Only blood stopped him from being her protective big brother, and he always acted like it. Both of them came in late to dinner that night, and they stayed later than the others did. "Are you all right?"

Silence as she half-heartedly stirred the goop in her bowl.

"You've been acting really strange lately. And don't tell me that you're sick," he said quickly, seeing that she was about to say something in her defense. "You're as healthy as you've ever been."

She shook her head, telling him it was nothing, but didn't say anything.

"And it's not just the last few days -"

"Dozer, it's nothing."

"- you haven't been yourself for weeks -"

"Dozer -"

"We're all really starting to worry about -"

"_It's personal_," she nearly yelled. Her eyes were closed, and she kept them that way. "I can figure it out for myself," she said in a much softer voice.

"Trinity, you know if you need anything..."

"I know," she whispered, trying to rub away the sudden pain in her neck.

He stood from his seat across from her, still looking concerned. "I'm really worried about you," he said as he opened the door. "I haven't seen you act this way since you came back from the Oracle."

Those words struck a chord as he left as he left.

For a short time - a _very_ short time - she thought she was saved. For a short time, she thought she had found the one thing that saved her from Neo. And, ironically, that thing was supposed to also save the entire human race. How could she have forgotten? It was on her mind constantly after she had seen the Oracle, how could it have escaped her completely in the last few weeks?

She would fall in love with the One. She _couldn't_ be in love with Neo.

---

This revelation didn't sustain her for very long. Trinity knew from the start that it wouldn't. As when the Oracle first spoke the words, it brought more questions than answers.

She had gone through hell for weeks because of him. It had made complete chaos of her life. If she wasn't truly in love with Neo, she was sure she would do nothing short of break down completely when she met the One.

She told him she loved him in the dream. When she did, no human on or beneath the face of the earth could have spoken truer words. Why would she have said them if they were a lie? What was it that she felt for Neo, if not love?

It didn't matter, though. The words she spoke in the dream were not a lie. It was a lie to tell herself that they were anything but the unquestionable truth. And it was not one she was able to maintain. The dreams continued. They weren't all the same, and she couldn't always remember them. Even so, she had them almost every night, and when she woke, the same words were always ringing in her ears.

Finally, it just became too much. She spent the entire night tossing and turning, occasionally drifting in and out of half-sleep. Some time around three she resigned herself to the fact that the Oracle's prophecy made no difference. She did love Neo. She had known it all along, it was just a matter of when she was willing to admit it.

She went into the early hours of the morning wondering how the Oracle could have been wrong this time when she had been correct in every other word she had ever spoken to Trinity.

The truth hit her then. It was so plainly obvious that anyone could have figured it out in an instant. She hadn't. The simple truth only occurred to her then, as she lay in her bed, and when it did, it came crashing down like the blue sky so far above.

---

Sleepless again, Trinity went to watch him again. She would see him do nothing but sleep, but she was slowly beginning to stop denying these little urges she got, even though she didn't like them.

When she reached the Core, however, she found Morpheus, already doing just that. She walked up behind him quietly. He acknowledged her only with a glance. She watched him carefully for several slow minutes. He wouldn't look at her, he was tense.... He would tell her now, if she asked. She leaned back against one side of the console, arms folded, eyes downcast, and waited. After many more minutes, even longer than the first, he started speaking.

"Trinity... I haven't been completely honest with you about Neo."

"No shit," she muttered. He hesitated, like he wasn't sure of himself, or didn't really want her to know just yet. The suspense was killing her. She was sure she knew already.

"You think he's the One."

When she was met with silence, she knew she was right.

---

---

Okay. So. Here's the deal. This is the end of this fic, but it's not the end of the story. I am going to go on, it'll just be a sequel. However, because I feel so guilty whenever I go too long without updating, I won't post the sequel until I have a few chapters under my belt, so I can keep posting at more regular intervals. But I PROMISE you, I WILL continue the story.

(By the by, weren't there supposed to be deleted scenes in the Matrix boxed set? I specifically remember reliable sources mentioning them, but I can't find them. Are they even there?)


End file.
